NEWS

Copper price triggers break-ins

Booming copper prices have triggered a series of break-ins at power stations around the country forcing electricity providers to increase security at local sub-stations and cut off power during repairs.

Thieves have cost the industry £5m this year by stealing the metal, used for earthing high-voltage equipment, according to the Energy Networks Association.

"This is not only very costly to the power companies and the wider community but it is very dangerous. Two people have already been killed this year and others badly injured trying to steal copper," said Neil Grant, a spokesman for the association.

The number of incidents rose dramatically in 2006 after much publicised increases in the value of copper and precious metals, Mr Grant said. "We do not like to give much publicity to this for fear it will just encourage others but in the main these break-ins are being perpetrated by organised gangs using lorries and other equipment."

Repairing substations that have been broken into often involves the operator having to cut off power to homes and potentially to doctors' surgeries and emergency services. Electricity companies are introducing stricter monitoring systems and experimenting with water-based adhesives which can be sprayed over facilities. These leave a print on hands, clothes and anything else that comes into contact with the copper, making it easier to trace the thieves and the stolen metal.

E.ON, the group that owns Powergen, confirmed that it was one of the many companies that have been hit by this kind of crime, most recently in Dudley, in the midlands. The company said thefts and attempted thefts of copper had trebled.

"We are working with Crime Stoppers and local police forces to try to get the message over to the local community that this is very damaging to customers and potentially fatal for those breaking in," said an E.ON spokeswoman.

E.ON has been checking its huge network of substations around the country to ensure they are as secure as they can be. The railway industry has also been plagued by thieves looking for copper.

The price of copper has risen five-fold since 2001 to around $6,700 (£3,420) a tonne with rising demand from the industrialisation in China and strong demand elsewhere in Asia.