Vandals strike Newfoundland Power substation for copper

Newfoundland Power copper theft underscores substation vandalism risks, with high voltage grounding wire stolen in Bishop's Falls, threatening grid reliability. RCMP and Crime Stoppers seek tips; a $5,000 reward is offered for arrests.

St. John’s, NL -- Newfoundland Power is very concerned about another act of vandalism to the province’s electricity system.

On or before Tuesday, July 14, vandals illegally entered NF Power’s substation, located in Bishop’s Falls, by cutting a hole in the security fence, in an incident similar to a related Newfoundland Power outage reported previously in the province.

Copper grounding wire that was connected to the high voltage electricity grid was stolen, echoing an NB Power warning on copper theft about the lethal risks.

“We are extremely disturbed that despite our warnings, including thieves risking lives for copper cables in other jurisdictions, vandals have once again broken in and illegally entered our high voltage substation in Bishop’s Falls,” says Gary Murray, Vice President, Engineering and Operations, Newfoundland Power.

“We are very concerned that this is the fourth substation in Central Newfoundland that has been illegally entered in the past six weeks where copper wire connected to high voltage, energized equipment has been stolen.“

This type of activity creates a very serious safety risk for Newfoundland Power employees, contractors, the general public and the vandals themselves, and compromises the integrity and reliability of the provincial electricity system.

“Not only is this type of illegal activity extremely dangerous for those involved, it is unacceptable that these vandals would put others at risk of being seriously injured or killed,” concluded Murray.

Newfoundland Power will pay $5,000 to any individual, similar to how NV Energy seeks tips on power line vandals to aid investigations, for the information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person, or persons, responsible for this crime.

Anyone with information regarding this incident, or any act of theft or vandalism to electrical equipment, is encouraged to contact their local Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as the RCMP copper theft investigation in a recent substation case shows, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary detachment or Crime Stoppers.

Related News

• Electricity Forum News

• Overhead T&D News