By Stu Johnson
Richmond, KY – Kentuckians who want to sell old copper to recycling and scrap metal facilities may soon need to prove they own the copper. The proposal, which is now before the state general assembly, is meant to reduce copper thefts. Some thieves burn insulation off copper cables and then sell it as scrap. Bernie Ubben with AT&T says their telephone cables are stolen on a regular basis.
"As far as the number of thefts that we've had they hit peaks in November, December, and January we were averaging a telephone cable theft almost every other day," said Ubben.
In addition to the inconvenience created by a loss of phone service, comes a real safety issue as well. Ubben says such thefts can compromise emergency response.
"Our customers are out there without telephone service they can't call 911 for help until we make repairs which usually take at least 24 hours," added Ubben.
Bernie Ubben says some copper thefts have also cut cell phone service. He says they steal electrical wiring from cell towers.