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2 Electric Utility Perspective on Metals Theft Barry Springer Colorado Rural Electric Association Presented to Colorado Springs, Colorado, July 2013 V2

3 Scope of the Problem According to an Electrical Safety Foundation International baseline survey about copper theft in the United States, utilities annually see more than $60 million in losses and 450,000 minutes of outage time due to theft. Additionally, every year 35 to 50 deaths or injuries are associated with copper theft. from: Cutting Out Copper Theft, Transmission and Distribution World 7/1/2013 2

4 Commodity Metals Theft Task Force Colorado House Bill created the Commodity Metals Theft Task Force. Included broad representation of interested and affected parties: Sheriffs, State Patrol, Chiefs of Police, Colorado Counties, Municipal League, Public Utilities, Railroads, Construction Industry, Metal recycling businesses, and Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. 7/1/2013 3

5 Task Force Objectives Coordinate implementation of new provisions of law in HB that: Increase requirements for seller identification and transaction tracking of metals recycling; Require recyclers to subscribe to scrap metal theft alert system; and Increase penalties for violation of law involving purchase of commodity metals. Recommend future courses of action to further reduce commodity metals theft. 7/1/2013 4

6 Commodity Metals Defined to include Copper, copper alloy, brass Aluminum Stainless steel Magnesium Metals with market value > $.50/pound Specifically excluded Precious metals (gold, silver, platinum) 7/1/2013 5

7 Metal Theft Statistics National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) recorded 25,083 claims for metals theft in Metal types involved Copper 24, % Aluminum % Brass % Bronze % Metals theft is overwhelmingly copper theft. 7/1/2013 6

8 High value target of metal thieves. 7/1/2013 7

9 Secondary theft target, 25% the value of copper. 7/1/2013 8

10 Impact of Metals Theft Costly Loss of valuable materials Labor cost of replacing lost materials and rebuilding damaged facilities is many times the value of the stolen materials. Disruptive Potential disruption of critical infrastructure Hazardous Public exposure to potentially hazardous equipment Utility worker exposure to ungrounded equipment Potential for serious injury or death 7/1/2013 9

11 Survey of Theft from Rural Electrics CREA survey of commodity metals theft losses over 3-years ( ). Based on reports from 20 rural electric cooperatives serving 58,243 miles of line in Colorado. Totals Percent Subtotals Percent 1. Location of Commodity Metal Theft a. Material Storage Sites 28 27% b. Field Construction Sites 22 21% c. Operating Facilities 54 52% (1) Caused service interuption 3 6% (2) Exposed public to hazards 3 6% (3) Caused damage to consumer equipment 5 9% (4) Resulted only in loss of materials 43 80% % Impact 3. Theft Incident resulted in injury or death 0 0% 4. Theft incidents resulted in arrest & prosecution 11 11% 5. Total Direct Cost of Thefts * $ 291,137 * Does not include losses as a consequence of utility service interruption or damage to consumer equipment. 7/1/

12 Survey of Theft from Rural Electrics CREA survey of commodity metals theft losses over 3-years ( ). Based on reports from 20 rural electric cooperatives serving 58,243 miles of line in Colorado. Totals Percent Subtotals Percent 1. Location of Commodity Metal Theft a. Material Storage Sites 28 27% b. Field Construction Sites 22 21% c. Operating Facilities 54 52% (1) Caused service interuption 3 6% (2) Exposed public to hazards 3 6% (3) Caused damage to consumer equipment 5 9% (4) Resulted only in loss of materials 43 80% % Impact 3. Theft Incident resulted in injury or death 0 0% 4. Theft incidents resulted in arrest & prosecution 11 11% 5. Total Direct Cost of Thefts * $ 291,137 * Does not include losses as a consequence of utility service interruption or damage to consumer equipment. 7/1/

13 Survey of Theft from Rural Electrics CREA survey of commodity metals theft losses over 3-years ( ). Based on reports from 20 rural electric cooperatives serving 58,243 miles of line in Colorado. Totals Percent Subtotals Percent 1. Location of Commodity Metal Theft a. Material Storage Sites 28 27% b. Field Construction Sites 22 21% c. Operating Facilities This is the major source of concern % (1) Caused service interuption 3 6% (2) Exposed public to hazards 3 6% (3) Caused damage to consumer equipment 5 9% (4) Resulted only in loss of materials 43 80% % Impact 3. Theft Incident resulted in injury or death 0 0% 4. Theft incidents resulted in arrest & prosecution 11 11% 5. Total Direct Cost of Thefts * $ 291,137 * Does not include losses as a consequence of utility service interruption or damage to consumer equipment. 7/1/

14 Electrical Substation Intrusion Substation copper theft typically begins with breach of protective fences or enclosures, and may result in uncontrolled public access to equipment at potentials up to 345,000 volts. Personal contact with such high voltage/high current sources could be instantly lethal. 7/1/

15 Electrical Substation Theft High value targets are heavy copper ground wires on transformer, switchgear and enclosures. Removal of ground wires compromises equipment safety grounding and endangers utility workers. Interruption of transformer neutral line would disrupt power delivery and may be instantly lethal to the thief. 7/1/

16 Utility Options to Reduce Metals Theft Facility surveillance Visual monitoring Grounding structure monitoring Materials Identification Unique color coding of insulation Laser bar-coded wires Materials Substitution Replace copper ground wires with low recycle value copper clad steel 7/1/

17 Impact of Metals Theft Moderate but tolerable impacts -- Costly not the primary driver for elevated concerns. Loss of valuable materials Labor costs of replacing lost materials and rebuilding damaged facilities Disruptive Potential disruption of critical infrastructure Hazardous Public exposure to hazardous utility equipment Utility worker exposure to ungrounded equipment Potential for serious injury or death 7/1/

18 Impact of Metals Theft Costly Loss of valuable materials Labor costs of replacing lost materials and rebuilding damaged facilities Potentially highly impacting Disruptive and real drivers for elevated concerns -- Potential disruption of critical infrastructure Hazardous Public exposure to hazardous utility equipment Utility worker exposure to ungrounded equipment Potential for serious injury or death public endangerment ancillary to theft, deserving of harsh criminal penalties. 7/1/

19 Task Force Recommendation for Colorado Legislative Action 7/1/

20 Pending Federal Legislation Metal Theft Prevention Act of 2013: Requires metal sellers to show proof of ownership for specified metals bearing ownership markings; Requires recyclers to maintain sale records for two years and limits cash payments to $100; and Establishes civil penalty for critical infrastructure metal theft including fine and up to 10 yrs in prison. Provisions of the law would be enforceable by state Attorneys General. Colorado legislators have delayed action on the Task Force recommendations pending outcome of consideration of the federal legislation. 7/1/

21 Metals Theft 7/1/

22 Presenter Biography Barry Springer earned Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering; is registered as a Professional Engineer in California and has been awarded four patents for electronic systems. He served a career in the U.S. Air Force, including command of the GPS Master Control Station and assignment to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, retiring as a Colonel. He subsequently worked for Lockheed Martin as a senior program manager, strategic planner and chair of the regional program manager certification board. Barry presently serves on the board of directors of Mountain View Electric Association. He represents Colorado Rural Electric Association as the Public Utility member appointed to the legislative Task Force on Commodity Metals Theft. 7/1/

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