The Bonneville Power Administration and local officers are investigating a theft of copper wire and damage to an electrical substation near Arlington, Washington. BPA will pay up to a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved.

BPA crews on Dec. 29 discovered that copper wire had been cut from circuit breakers, switches and other equipment at the substation at 17400 Burn Road, south of Arlington and northeast of Everett. The thieves apparently had entered the substation some time in the previous week by cutting a hole in the fence. BPA officials estimated that more than 30 feet of copper wire of varying sizes were stolen.

“The culprits are not only damaging the electrical infrastructure that keeps our lights on, but they’re also forcing electric ratepayers to cover the costs of this kind of senseless damage and theft,” said Henry Rosales, BPA physical security specialist.

BPA does not yet have an estimate of the cost of the damage. The incident outside Arlington continues a string of copper thefts from BPA’s Washington substations, including others near Shelton and Kelso in the past several months.

Anyone with information about this or other such crimes should call BPA’s confidential and toll-free Crime Witness Hotline at 800-437-2744 or contact local law enforcement. BPA officials hope that news of the theft and potential reward will lead witnesses to report anything unusual they may have seen at or around the substation. Even small details can often help investigators.