So there I was last Wednesday, getting towards the end of the working day (but on standby until Thursday morning). Just before 4pm I get a phone call from our control room, we had lost supply to about 1200 customers in a town about 10 miles from the office, asking me to attend.
So I get my gear on and set off. On the way I get a call telling me a customer had reported seeing some "contractors" working in the river, at the time the power went off there had been a large flash and a bang where one of them was working.
Now I know that a cable crosses this river at about the location of the report, it is in a 150mm steel pipe and there are two other spare pipes. They had all been visible on the river bed after the floods of November 2009 and a scheme was being planned to replace them
Called to see the customer and sure enough two guys had been cutting and removing the pipes until one of them cut into the one containing the live 11,000V cable!!
He was seen to fall back into the water, get up and return to the vehicle they had, his mate went and retrieved the power saw and then they, quickly, drove off.
I then went to the location of the damage and found the cable had indeed been cut about 12 inches from the river bank!
Supplies were then quickly restored and the police called.
Sent them some photos of it to them this morning and got a phone call asking if I could call in and make a statement. Both had been arrested and bailed.
One of them is very lucky to be alive and uninjured!
Cost of stolen pipe - £150
Cost to lay a new cable across river by directional drilling £90,000
So I get my gear on and set off. On the way I get a call telling me a customer had reported seeing some "contractors" working in the river, at the time the power went off there had been a large flash and a bang where one of them was working.
Now I know that a cable crosses this river at about the location of the report, it is in a 150mm steel pipe and there are two other spare pipes. They had all been visible on the river bed after the floods of November 2009 and a scheme was being planned to replace them
Called to see the customer and sure enough two guys had been cutting and removing the pipes until one of them cut into the one containing the live 11,000V cable!!
He was seen to fall back into the water, get up and return to the vehicle they had, his mate went and retrieved the power saw and then they, quickly, drove off.
I then went to the location of the damage and found the cable had indeed been cut about 12 inches from the river bank!
Supplies were then quickly restored and the police called.
Sent them some photos of it to them this morning and got a phone call asking if I could call in and make a statement. Both had been arrested and bailed.
One of them is very lucky to be alive and uninjured!
Cost of stolen pipe - £150
Cost to lay a new cable across river by directional drilling £90,000
