In a previous career, I looked after television transmitter sites. These remote sites contain copper wiring and accessories. Even though transmitter sites are extremely dangerous places with high voltage and high power, these sites were targeted by people who would risk their lives to steal cooper to sell to unsavoury recyclers.
Sometime these people would steal cooper, but most of the time they would end up with other worthless material. The cost of repairing the damage was high, as was the safety risk these people would create during and after the theft.
Stealing wiring is nothing new in Langley City, but it has intensified over the last little while. The City normally budgets around $12,000 to repair the damage caused by wire theft of its own infrastructure. To date, there has been over 2.5 kilometres of wire stolen, and the repair bill stands at $23,000.
Langley City is doing its part by installing anti-theft devices inside of new streetlights, using less valuable aluminum wiring, and having Langley City stamped on new wiring. These new streetlights are mainly being installed in the Downtown area.
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| Example of a new streetlight with anti-theft features. Select image to enlarge. |
The City needs your help as most parts of our community still have older cooper wiring. If you see anyone messing around with a streetlight or wiring, and they don’t look like they work for BC Hydro or Langley City, please call the RCMP non-emergency line at (604) 532-3200.
If you see a non-functioning streetlight, please let the City know by using the Request for Service portal.
Replacing stolen wiring is costly, and stealing wiring decreases the safety of our streets. With the help of the community, we can curb wire theft.
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