Columnist: Dark motives are behind lack of light in some areas

After God created the heaven and the earth, according to the book of Genesis, he said: “Let there be light.” And there was light.

Obviously, though, he wasn’t counting on the antics of scumbags, thieves and meth heads.

A half-dozen readers have written in recently asking why so many streetlights are dark along the region’s highways.

Some are out because of technical glitches, such as corrosion from salt spread on the highways in winter. Others, particularly along Interstate 25 between Fillmore and Garden of the Gods, are awaiting rewiring by Colorado Springs Utilities after the COSMIX widening project.

But officials say many of the streetlights are dark because thieves have pulled out the copper wiring to sell.

“Whenever you see an area with a string of lights out along a highway, it tends to be some sort of theft of wiring,” said Bob Wilson of the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Copper thefts have soared as the price of the metal skyrocketed to meet growing demand in Asia. The price of copper has more than doubled since 2000, and it now sells for $2.78 a pound locally and $2.95 nationally.

The thefts also have coincided with the rise in the popularity of methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug that apparently leads users to the delusion that pulling heavy, live wire out of a pole in the dead of night is easier than getting a real job.

Streetlights meant to illuminate the northbound exit of I-25 at Monument are dark now because the poles have been stripped of their copper wiring, said Wilson. Ditto for the streetlights at U.S. Highway 24 west at Cave of the Winds and at Powers Boulevard and Highway 24 east.

Colorado Springs Utilities, which maintains lights within the city limits, including those along the interstate, reports copper thieves are responsible for plunging the Cimarron interchange at I-25 into darkness.

CDOT’s Wilson said his department is as frustrated as motorists. The department is investigating ways to prevent thieves from getting into the access panels at the base of the light poles, but a fix will be neither cheap nor easy.

Nor is replacing the wiring: Wilson said the cost of replacing the wiring just at Monument and at Powers and Highway 24 will be $200,000. The department hasn’t gotten an estimate for the lights near Cave of the Winds.

Colorado Springs Utilities lost more than 176,000 feet — or more than 33 miles — of copper wire in 2007 alone. That will cost ratepayers more than $323,000 — a huge increase over losses in 2006, when the utility spent $86,000 to replace stolen wiring.

Depending on the extent of the damage, getting a streetlight back on can be a huge job, often requiring weeks, said Natalie Eckhart of Colorado Springs Utilities.

Lawmakers in at least 21 states have passed or are considering laws making it more difficult to sell stolen copper or imposing stiffer penalties, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Colorado lawmakers, Wilson said, have yet to take action.

There is no national count of people who have been electrocuted stealing copper, but the Associated Press has put the death toll at about 24 from mid-2006 to mid-2007.