[ansel12]

The cables probably aren’t worth a whole lot and scrap dealers who accept them should be jailed if a case can be made against them, which applies to a lot of the scrap thieves bring in.

Here is probably a ballpark figure of the prices involved.

“There’s about $10 worth of copper in one of the cables,” SCL spokeswoman Jenn Strang said. Replacing a cable, though, costs the utility about $2,500.

[woodbutcher1963]

IF you are going to be a thief you would make a lot more money cutting Catalytic Converters off of big trucks and SUVs. Plenty of clearance to slide underneath with a battery operated sawzall.

I have a customer that runs a scrap yard. The most valuable Catalytic Converter is on a Ford Expedition. They actually have two. Worth $650 EACH.

They have a machine that cuts apart the CC’s and puts the rare earth metals and dust into bags in a 55 gallon drum. He told me when that drum is fill it is worth $12K. The warehouse in which this machine sits is monitored 24/7 by video surveillance.