Safety hazard created by equipment tampering

A criminal risked his life to steal copper from a south Fayetteville power substation July 22, and Coweta-Fayette EMC is offering a $10,000 reward to find out who it was.

Not only was copper wire cut but some equipment at the substation off Jeff Davis Drive was also breached, EMC officials said. The thief may have been burned during the crime, officials said.

“Our concern is not monetary losses,” said CEO Anthony Sinclair. “This vandalism could kill someone if a stolen ground goes undetected. These individuals created an extremely dangerous situation for our linemen, who work hard for our members and simply want to go home to their families.”

In addition to the potential electrocution of anyone in the vicinity, copper thefts threaten the reliability of our electric system, according to EMC officials. Had this most recent copper theft gone undetected, the damage would have ultimately caused a major outage affecting members in the south Fayette area.

In the past two years Coweta-Fayette EMC has dealt with several similar instances of metal theft in Fayette, Fulton and Heard counties that risked lives and power outages, officials said.

Anyone with information about the July 22 incident is asked to call Fayetteville Police Det. Mike Whitlow at 770-719-4222. Details such as a tag number or physical description of a person or car could be especially helpful.

Coweta-Fayette EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to over 73,000 consumers in Coweta, Fayette, Heard, South Fulton, Clayton, Spalding, Troup and Meriwether counties.

login to post comments