PORT ANGELES — Someone who stole copper wire from a Clallam County Public Utility District substation blew out three voltage regulators and cut power to about 2,000 customers west of the city at 1 a.m. Saturday.
Power was restored to all by 1:40 p.m., said Michael Howe, PUD spokesman.
Damage to the Lairds Corner facility was extensive, said Ken Haman, operations supervisor, although there was no evidence the thief was hurt.
According to the county Sheriff’s Office, damages could exceed $120,000.
Cost of the theft will include wages for crews called out at the end of days of round-the-clock repairs of power outages from last week’s severe storms.
“Everybody was hoping they could sleep in on Saturday,” Haman said, “but we weren’t so lucky.
“That’s the sad thing about this. We’ve got people working out here. They’re losing family time and rest, and everybody’s paying for it,” Haman said.
Saturday’s outage unfortunately hit those who had born the brunt of earlier storms, Howe noted.
Haman said the Lairds Corner substation was only 3 years old, so its equipment was nearly new.
It was the fourth time this year thieves have broken into a PUD substation, Haman said, although it was the first time they knocked out power.
“We’re definitely looking at upgrading our security measures,” he said.
The crime affected customers west of Lairds Corner at U.S. Highway 101 and state Highway 112, including Lake Sutherland.
Electrical service was diverted through substations near Joyce and near William R. Fairchild International Airport.
Power was restored incrementally, with about 450 customers back on the grid at about 8 a.m. and another 100 by 10 a.m.
Sgt. Eric Munger of the county Sheriff’s Office said the thief may have escaped injury by using an insulated device to cut the wires.
But Haman said the man, who was captured on video, may not have used insulated bolt cutters when he severed ground wires to the fence surrounding the substation.
The hoodie-wearing thief then moved to wires leading to the voltage regulators
When one of the grounding wires was cut, it made contact with a regulator, causing a short circuit.
That damaged two other regulators and sparked the power outage for the Elwha Valley.
At least 100 feet of roughly half-inch-diameter bundled uninsulated copper wire was stolen, Haman said.
Thieves often steal copper for its scrap value, even breaking into cars to steal wiring, although Saturday’s thief did so at a nadir of copper commodity prices that bottomed out at $2.94 per pound last week.
On the North Olympic Peninsula, Haman said, scrap dealers are wary of people trying to sell copper wire, taking their photograph and copying their driver’s license.
“I don’t know where they’re going to sell it,” Haman said, adding that the haul from Saturday’s theft probably was bound for Seattle, where someone may take it without asking many questions.
Munger requested anyone knowing about the incident to call the Sheriff’s Office at 360-417-2459.
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Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com