03 August 2010 11:50
Chainsaw attacks on E.ON's power network leave thousands of customers powerless across the Midlands

A massive increase in organised chainsaw attacks on E.ON's power network in central England has seen more than a dozen wooden poles scythed down and thousands of customers left without power in a week.

In what appears to be an increasing trend, E.ON's distribution engineers either discovered or were alerted to a total of 14 electricity poles that had been cut down using chainsaws in the last week in July alone.

John Crackett, Managing Director of E.ON's Distribution business, said: "Like everyone else, we've seen metal thefts increasing for a number of years but what we hadn't seen before were thieves going to such lengths.

"Simply put, they use a chainsaw to cut down the wooden poles and get access to our cabling.

"Even ignoring the danger of cutting down a pole that has wires carrying 11,000 volts at the top of it and leaving those wires, which could still be live, hanging near to the ground, this costs us money and causes massive inconvenience to our customers."

The attacks in E.ON central England area were:

• Farmer found pole cut, with live conductors hanging three feet from the ground in Welton in Lincolnshire on Saturday (July 31). Around 40 customers were left without power while repairs were carried out;
• Engineers discovered two poles cut and wires rolled up and ready to go in Doddington in Lincolnshire on Saturday (July 31). More than 1,850 customers were left without power. One person has been arrested by police in connection with the incident;
• A pole was cut down and left lying just off its side in Gringley-on-the-Hill in Nottinghamshire on Friday (July 30). Around 30 customers were left without power;
• A second pole was discovered in a field being supported only by overhead wires in Gringley-on-the-Hill on Friday (July 30);
• Two poles were cut down and cabling stolen in Misterton Carr in Nottinghamshire last Monday (July 26), leaving more than 260 customers without power;
• Engineers found two further poles in Misterton Carr on the same day, both had been cut and both were being supported by overhead lines;
• In Swinethorpe in Nottinghamshire engineers found three poles that had been cut down and the wiring stolen on July 24-25, leaving more than 200 customers without power; and
• In a field in Wednesfield near Wolverhampton, a wooden pole was cut through in broad daylight, cutting power to more than 4,600 customers on July 26^th.

Anyone with information about the attacks is being urged to call the police or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Ends

Notes to editors:

• E.ON is one of the UK's leading power and gas companies - generating and distributing electricity, and retailing power and gas - and is part of the E.ON group, one of the world's largest investor-owned power and gas companies. We employ more than 15,000 people in the UK and more than 88,000 worldwide;
• E.ON's retail business is a leading energy supplier in the UK with around 5.3 million electricity and gas customers, covering domestic, SME and industrial. E.ON also offers central heating and boiler care;
• Our distribution business, branded Central Networks, provides a reliable supply to around 10 million people in central England through 133,000km of underground and overhead cables - enough to go round the Earth more than three times - and via almost 94,000 substations. The company covers an area from the Peak District in the north to parts of Bristol in the south, and from the Welsh Borders to the Lincolnshire Coast;
• The generation business produces enough electricity to cater for the needs of around eight million homes from a portfolio of world-class gas-, coal- and oil-fired power stations;
• We're a market leader in UK combined heat and power (CHP) with 12 sites supplying over 500MW of electricity and in excess of 900MW of heat;
• We're one of the leading green generators in the UK, with 20 wind farms located from Cambridgeshire to Kintyre. We own and operate one of the UK's largest dedicated biomass power stations at Lockerbie. Combined, our renewable portfolio generates enough green energy to power the homes in a city the size of Manchester;
• Our green development portfolio could power over a million homes and displace the emission of almost two million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by building new onshore and offshore wind farms, biomass power stations, and marine power schemes;
• We recently launched our first wave power generator, which is the first in UK waters and which is capable of generating 750kW of renewable energy;
• Our target is to cut the carbon released by each kW of electricity we generate by 10% between 2005-2012, having already reduced it by 20% since 1990;
• We have 1,500MW of renewable capacity under development in the UK;
• We have installed over 630,000 cavity wall and loft installation measures since 2005, as well as energy efficient boilers and smart meters to help customers manage their energy more efficiently;
• We are investing £50 million in new technologies and approaches over 10 years, through the Energy Technologies Institute;
• We have Biodiversity Action Plans at many of our sites which align us with the UK target of significantly reducing biodiversity loss;
• E.ON Group has announced it intends to reduced the carbon intensity of its generation by 50% by 2030 (on 1990 levels);
• E.ON Group aims to spend €8bn between 2007 and 2012 on renewable generation and climate protection activities.

For more information contact:

Jonathan Smith 024 7618 3676; or

Alisha Allen on 192 063