A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those who are responsible for copper clad wire that has been removed from power poles in the Tierra Grande, a remote area in northern Socorro County and southern Valencia County.

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Cooperative along with Socorro Electric Cooperative are offering the bounty. The damage was first reported to the SEC on Jan. 18.

Whoever's responsible has cost the SEC about $50,000, the estimated price to repair the damage, according to Richard Lopez, engineering and operations manager.

"The damage they're doing is incredible," he said. "They've hit 200 poles to date — all for about $600 worth of copper."

Lopez said the wire that's being taken isn't pure copper, but a composite that isn't worth as much on the market.

Copper clad is a bimetallic material used as a drop wire for grounding poles.

"It has the characteristics of copper, but it's not quite copper," Lopez said.

The vandal cuts the wire and possibly uses a vehicle to rip it off the pole.

Lopez said grounding the power poles is a vital part of the electric service grid. Those who are taking the wire are putting themselves at great risk.

"One of these days, someone's going to get killed. You pop a wire and it breaks off of neutral ..." he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Lopez said there have been some reports from people who may have spotted the culprits. The way one possible witness described it, the perpetrators work quickly, he said.

SEC Board of Trustees were informed of the vandalism at its regular meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 27.

District 5 Trustee Jack Bruton said perhaps the SEC should hire a detective to help track down whoever is responsible.

"We need to run those people down," he said.

The New Mexico State Police is already investigating, Lopez said.

Anyone with information about the crime should contact NMSP at 575-835-0741, or Lopez toll-free at 800-351-7575.

Contact T.S. Last