National Public Radio report says ‘value of copper has roughly doubled in the past year’
Approximately 16,000 feet of underground, copper electrical wire linked to Sarasota County’s roadway lighting systems has been stolen over the past several months, county staff reported this week.
The incidents created “public safety hazards for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians,” a news release pointed out.
On 17th Street in Sarasota, the release says, 9,000 feet of wire was removed, with the subsequent repairs costing about $45,500. On Bahia Vista Street, approximately 7,000 feet of wire was stolen, it adds, with repair expenses totaling $9,000.
A video that county staff released about the incidents indicated that the thefts were discovered in the 4200 block of Bahia Vista Street and the 3900 block of 17th Street.
“Sarasota County is replacing copper wire with non-copper alternatives during repairs to remove the financial incentive,” the news release noted, “but individuals continue cutting into the infrastructure.”
Stephen Smagacz, supervisor of streetlights and signalization within the Transportation Department, said in the video, “We’ve gone to an aluminum wire,” which has a lower value than copper wire. “It’s not worth their time,” he added, “but they still do cut it.”
A National Public Radio report on June 3, for the program All Things Considered, pointed out, “Over the past few years, there has been an alarming rise in copper wire theft in the United States and beyond. The value of copper has roughly doubled in the past year, thanks in part to increasing demand for the metal. So thieves strip it from phone lines, as well as from other infrastructure like streetlamps and EV chargers. Repairs cost companies and communities, vex corporate executives and politicians and tax work crews.”
The report included an interview with Todd Swenson of AT&T’s construction and engineering division. He explained that “record-high prices of copper — buoyed, in part, by the artificial intelligence data center boom — are to blame.”
“ ‘The higher the price of copper is at a recycler and on the market, our theft goes up. Direct correlation there,’ he says.”
In the Sarasota County video, Smagacz of the Transportation Department reported that staff had been “receiving reports from the public that we have large outages. … We had three separate incidents where crews came in the middle of the night [to deal with the situations].”
In response to a Sarasota News Leader inquiry, the county’s Transportation Department staff said on June 24 that the first incident “was reported on 10/14/2025 near 17th Street and Prudence Drive.”
After the wiring to one light has been cut, Smagacz pointed out in the county video, the related lights will fail. “They’re all in series. … I would imagine they knocked out 40 lights [in each incident] …”
County staff is asking members of the public to be on the lookout for suspicious activity, he continued. “If you see people pulling wire out of the ground at 2 o’clock in the morning or 3 o’clock in the morning, this is not sanctioned by Sarasota County,” Smagacz stressed.
Such incidents should be reported to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, via its non-emergency number, he added. That number is 941-316-1201.
Law enforcement personnel “are well aware of this” in both Sarasota and Manatee counties, he said.
The news release noted that county staff is coordinating with law enforcement personnel, “monitoring affected corridors, and prioritizing repairs to restore lighting.” However, it did point out, “Residents who see suspicious activity occurring near pull boxes or electrical infrastructure, especially at night or involving unmarked vehicles, are asked to dial 911 to report the incident.”
Persons who observe damage to electrical infrastructure or pull boxes are asked to call the Sheriff’s Office’s non-emergency line, the release said.