While the wind and rain knocked out power in many parts of the province, it was a copper theft at a substation in Spryfield that caused the problem for more than 11,000 customers from Armdale to Sambro. Nova Scotia Power had to cut power to the area for a short time to make emergency repairs, a Nova Scotia Power spokesperson said in an email. “Our crews needed to do a shutdown so they could safely repair the equipment as quickly as possible,” the email said. “During this outage, the crew was able to prepare all materials and install to minimize the duration of the outage for customers.” Nova Scotia Power says it is trying to replace copper wire with less valuable material to reduce theft. (CBC)
Theft on the rise
There has been an increase in utility copper wire theft across Nova Scotia in recent months, according to a news release. To reduce theft, the email said, the utility has replaced copper with “low-value alternatives” and is increasing video surveillance. The utility said the police would be notified of the theft. A similar theft occurred in the same area during a storm in 2019.
