Homes go dark as gangs steal live cables
The organised criminals are using hoists and cherry pickers to access the copper, which can fetch up to €5,000 a tonne on the scrap market.
Gardaí are investigating 12 thefts of power cables, all of which have taken place in the past three weeks.
ESB experts said that as well as causing outages, the criminals were putting people’s lives at risk because wires were being left dangling feet from the ground.
In one incident last Friday, a residential area in Sallynoggin, south Dublin, had its power cut after criminals stole overhead wiring, with electricity restored on Saturday afternoon.
“Not withstanding the obvious dangers to those cutting the live wires, pure idiocy, it poses a serious safety risk to the residents in the area where the exposed wires are left dangling from posts,” said James McCann, a Fianna Fáil local election candidate for Dún Laoghaire.
“Some residents with health issues could also be put at serious risk with unexpected power outages in the middle of the night.”
It is an emerging problem across Europe. Last October, the European Parliament heard that it was a significant problem in the Netherlands, Germany, Britain, Italy, France, Luxembourg, and Belgium.
It marks a development in the theft of copper wiring and piping, with gangs previously targeting everything from buildings to homes to phone cables.
“It’s a fairly new phenomenon,” said an ESB spokeswoman. “In the last three weeks, we’ve had 12 incidents, largely in the Dublin area.”
She said there were “very significant dangers” involved in the theft of live wiring.
“People carrying out these thefts are exposing themselves to huge danger.
“If they come in contact with live wire and earth it, it could be fatal or the very least result in severe injuries.”
She said the criminals were also “quite reckless” towards the public.
There has been at least one incident where a live wire was left hanging down “only six to eight feet off the ground”, she said. In addition, local areas suffer a power cut with the resulting inconvenience.
Last month, four homes went up in flames in England after thieves cut wiring, causing a power surge.
Gardaí have set up an operation in conjunction with ESB Networks because of their concerns.
“Perpetrators are warned that this is a very dangerous activity with potentially fatal consequences and are urged to cease immediately,” a Garda spokesman said at the launch of the operation earlier this month.
“Interference with the power network creates a risk for the public and causes inconvenience to customers by interrupting their electricity supply. The public have an important part to play in helping us put a stop to this type of theft.
“It is vital that if you see any suspicious people or vehicles anywhere near power lines that you contact An Garda Síochána/ESB Networks as a matter of urgency.”
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