Copper thieves have once again caused a service outage in North Texas.
For the second time in a month, some Fort Worth residents have lost internet, phone, and TV service after thieves removed copper wiring from utility poles to sell to scrap yards.
“All of our appliances that talk back and forth not within the house but outside the house. You know, if we’re trying to check our cameras, emails, we can’t log in to work. We rely on it quite a bit,” said Fort Worth resident Gary Ostand to NBC 5 DFW.
In August, Ostand and his neighbors spent a week without service due to damage made by copper thieves. On Wednesday, he lost service again.
“I’m trying to keep a smile going on, but there’s a bit of anger because you’re sort of helpless,” he said to NBC 5.
Ostand says he spent nearly an hour on the phone with AT&T to find out when his service will be restored.
“I had a guy come out yesterday and say, ‘We’ll try to get it done tonight.’ Then I got a call back. Now, it’s going to be tomorrow. Another tech came out and said, ‘We’re going to have to get a contractor to bring cable in.’ Then, I got a text from AT&T saying it’s going to be five to 10 days,” he said.
According to current scrap metal prices, copper can sell for up to $3.65 per pound. Convicted copper thieves are generally charged with misdemeanors, with relatively low fines and short jail sentences offering little in the way of a deterrent.
Copper theft has been a persistent problem in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
In August, Garland Police arrested three persons for stealing $10,000 worth of copper from a utility pole.
In July, a thief was caught stealing copper in Dallas around 1:30 p.m. He attempted to get away with $20,000 worth of copper that belonged to AT&T.
In late August, some parts of Tarrant County went as long as weeks without service. AT&T blamed the extended service outage on the copper thieves, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The problem dates back multiple years. In 2022, The Dallas Express reported that they were tearing down cables, disrupting internet service, and cutting off residents’ ability to call 911.