IID says power outage caused by copper theft

Almost 900 customers were without power just before 10 AM this morning. IID says its all thanks to the work of metal thieves who have been causing employees and rate payers problems.

“If they’re going to a system that is unstable because the copper wiring has been removed, they don’t know what they’re getting into so the system can react in ways they don’t expect,” says Marion Champion, IID’s Officer of Media Communication.

“There have been instances where people have gotten seriously hurt, even killed, during commission of copper theft,” says Indio Police Department Commander Henk Peters.

Commander Peters says Indio PD’s street crime unit works actively on metal theft cases with local recycle centers.

One recycle center says copper can be recycled for $0.90 to $1.65/lb.

“When thieves come in, and they steal the copper grounds or they steal copper from some of our equipment, they may get $5 or $10 worth of copper at the recycling place…it will end up costing the district and its rate payers thousands of dollars to replace,” says Champion.

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About 880 Imperial Irrigation District customers were without power in Coachella on Friday due to a problem at a local substation. But, IID officials said power was restored to all of them by 12 p.m.

The outage was reported at 9:50 a.m., affecting the area along the western border of Coachella where it meets the city of Indio, according to IID’s Marion Champion. Repair crews were en route to the utility’s Jackson substation to determine the cause of the outage, Champion said.

If you’re still without power, please check your main breaker and call 1-800-303-7756, IID officials said.

IID’s Twitter feed is a good way to stay up-to-date with power outages and restoration time. Check for updates here.