Posted on 11/18/2016 6:53:10 AM PST by EBH
CLEVELAND-- FirstEnergy is offering a $5,000 in hopes of tracking down the person who stole overhead wire and other electrical equipment in the Cleveland area.
The suspects may be dressed as utility workers with hard hats and reflective vests, the company said in a news release on Monday. They even go door to door to tell residents about a power outage to stop customers from reporting problems to the Illuminating Company. That gives the thieves more time to the steal the wire.
"The individuals are creating a safety and service reliability issue by cutting energized wires and letting them drop to the ground," the company said.
FirstEnergy is working with the Cleveland Division of Police on its investigating into the thefts.
Anyone with information is asked to call the FirstEnergy Tip Line at 866-487-2743 or Cuyahoga County Crime Stoppers at 216-252-7463. Tips can remain anonymous, and reward money is available for the successful arrest and prosecution.
To report downed wires, call 888-544-4877 immediately.
CLEVELAND-- One suspect was injured during a police-involved shooting on Cleveland's east side just after midnight Friday.
Officers were called to the FirstEnergy service center on East 146th Street near Miles Avenue at about 2 a.m. for a report of trespassers. They found a group of male suspects.
At least one of the suspects fired shots, Cleveland police said. Officers returned fire, hitting an 18-year-old man in the shoulder.
He was taken to University Hospitals for treatment. No officers were injured.
Police arrested three suspects, including two 17-year-olds. A fourth person got away. Authorities recovered a handgun at the scene, according to police.
The Use of Deadly Force Investigation Team later responded to the location, which is standard for these cases.
#BlackOverheadWiresMatter
Check the local electricians union, they would have the knowledge to pull this off.
Actually was considering this more along the terrorism lines. Reading this, these people were in the 17-18 yr. old age group. REally young and stupid or indoctrinated to be gathering materials for a grid-like event?
I am surprised that that steel is worth the risk. Usually they get the copper from outdoor HVAC.
Regarding Africa:
I have a friend who was in Africa to install electrical power to rural areas under a $400 million grant of your US tax dollars. The Africans would steal the wire as fast as they could install it. It was hopeless and he came home.
They may have thought it was copper cable.
Wow. If transmission lines required copper can you imagine how expensive electricity would be?
yep.... inside job
But one would think that folks with the skill to pull this off would know it was not copper. I doubt there is any copper hanging on poles.
Will anyone be charged? I’ll be shocked if $5000 is enough to overcome anyone’s resistance to squeal.
I was looking at a large city park last week with 12 baseball fields in 3 groups of 4 diamonds. Each group had a snack bar / bathroom building, and the HVAC outdoor unit was basically in an exterior room of the building behind a sliding track barn door with a heavy wire fence insert.
The steel in overhead wires is for reinforcement. The conductor is usually aluminum or an aluminum alloy - not worth as much as copper, but certainly more than steel.
This is in older sections of FirstEnergy system. I mean old as in installed in the 1920s to 1940s. There is a lot of copper still up there in really old parts of town. I know. I used to work there.
Quite a shocking crime. I’m sure that this theft was sparked by the current state of the economy.
Good point. Really old overhead stuff will have copper conductors.
The main point I was making in regard to the other Posting is that the lines are not just steel.
***Usually they get the copper from outdoor HVAC.***
Or ground wires made of thick pure copper cable.
The internet is full of photos of clowns who thought they could use rubber dish washing gloves to cut wires and steal copper wire.
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