Cheap energy customers affected by copper theft - 18/10/2010
Customers of energy suppliers in Sheffield were left without power over the weekend after the theft of copper from two substations.
Some 369 households in the Jordanthorpe and Batemoor areas had no electricity when thieves targeted the valuable metal by cutting through power conductors at the generating sites.
Energy suppliers CE Electric UK had to visit individual homes in order to carry out safety checks after the incident caused a power surge, with residents complaining of damage to electrical appliances including television sets and microwaves.
Communications manager of the company Siobhan Barton told the Yorkshire Post: "The problem of copper theft is one which we are having to deal with on an almost daily basis and it is now reaching epidemic proportions."
Last month, the newspaper revealed that the cost of copper theft has affected CE Electric to the tune of £629,000 in the first eight months of 2010.
By last night (October 17th), most of the homes affected by the power cut had been reconnected.
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