Copper theft at substation leads to power outage on P.E.I.'s North Shore

Maritime Electric warns that people are endangering their lives when they choose to steal copper from the utility's properties on Prince Edward Island.

About 3,400 customers lost power Thursday afternoon along the North Shore after some copper was stolen from the Bagnall Road substation, and the utility had to shut off power to get the system repaired.

"You can be electrocuted," Maritime Electric spokesperson Kim Griffin said in an interview, speaking of people who break in with an eye to stealing the valuable metal components. "That's a huge concern for human life."

Not only are the thieves at risk, Griffin said, but dealing with the aftermath of the damage can endanger work crews as well.

"We're in the substations doing work all the time," she pointed out. If theft damage has left gear ungrounded, "it can pose a significant risk to not only our equipment, but to our crews."

Thursday's outage to let staff fix the damage left residents and businesses without power in Rustico, Cavendish, Stanley Bridge, New Glasgow, Hunter River and the surrounding areas.

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"When we have to do this work, we have to take out power to many of our customers and we try to limit that," Griffin said.

She said many business customers in that area are at the height of the summer tourism season and need power to offer services and process transactions.

With copper theft becoming more common, thanks to high prices being offered for the commodity, the Canadian Telecommunications Association said earlier this summer that vandalism related to theft doubled annually from 2021 to 2023.

"It's not a victimless crime," Eric Smith, the association's senior vice-president, told CBC Calgary in early July.

Griffin said people can help prevent future thefts by notifying the company if they see someone near a substation who is not driving a vehicle with Maritime Electric logos or a contractor's branding.