Lawmakers Hope to Pass Bill to Prevent Copper Theft - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

     It's something Aevenia, an energy and electrical company in Moorhead, knows about all too well; in the past year, the company has fallen victim to multiple copper thefts, and president Mike Hanson says, "they'll take it any way they can get it."

      "This facility has 7 incidents in the past year," says Hanson.

     He says he's not surprised by the crimes, as the price for copper has been on a rise. "There's times when individuals cut a piece of segment line," says Hanson.

     It's crimes like these that has lawmakers pushing legislation to help crack down on copper thefts. "Last year, there were 25,000 insurance claims for copper thefts," Hanson tells us. "That's an 80% increase from the year before."

     Senator Klobuchar and Senator Hoeven visited Aevenia to present a bill that they hope to introduce this session which would make it a federal crime if you stole copper that damages critical infrastructure.

Until a bill passes to prevent metal theft, Hanson will try different methods to prevent any more crimes from taking place. "We have put up a barbed wire fence and security cameras," says Hanson.