Copper theft caused Sunday outages

SAN LUIS VALLEY (APRIL 21, 2026)— San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative (SLVREC) is experiencing incidents of copper theft from utility poles across our system, including transmission poles owned by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association. These thefts are dangerous and threaten the reliability of electric service in our region.

The most recent incident occurred Sunday, April 19, impacting 6,482 meters across five substations. The outage lasted nearly three hours and caused damage to nine Tri-State structures. While the financial impact is still being assessed, incidents like this can result in significant repair costs.

Tampering with utility poles is extremely dangerous and creates safety hazards for both the public and our lineworkers. It also increases the risk of outages affecting homes and businesses. In addition, the removal of grounding wires increases the risk of fire by reducing the system’s ability to safely dissipate lightning strikes.

If you see suspicious activity near a utility pole, please report it immediately to our office and your local sheriff’s office.

We appreciate your help in protecting our community and keeping the lights on.