Posted 16 October 2012
When issue 9 of Wired was printed in November 2010, copper price stood at USD8000 per tonne. It got as high as USD9800 at the beginning of August 2011 but has fallen back a little since.
As a result, copper cable thefts are becoming a regular and dangerous occurrence. In July, in Castleford, West Yorks, thieves made a botched attempt at removing copper cable from an overhead line. This prompted a spectacular explosion at a row of terraced houses. Miraculously no-one was seriously injured. See the dramatic house explosion for yourself:
A fatality did occur in Leeds recently where a 16 year old was electrocuted at a disused power station.
The incident follows a series of other thefts recently including a rail signal station in the South-West and at a number of British Heritage sites across the country.
The number of cable thefts is now running into thousands per year, with one report of over 10,000 incidents last year. With the price of copper showing no long term signs of decreasing, customers must be extra vigilant.
We cut to the required length on most cables so you only buy what you need and don’t have to hold product on site unnecessarily. Talk to your sales contact about these possibilities.