Electric utilities and communications providers are faced with a common crisis: copper theft. Theft of copper components from networks causes financial loss, excessive downtime and injury or loss of life. Copper theft has been increasing dramatically over the past several years because the worldwide price of copper is at an all-time high. Recyclers pay premium prices for copper, encouraging thieves to take unprecedented risks to obtain copper from live electric or communications circuits.

One solution that helps reduce the incidence of copper theft is the use of bimetallic ground wire. CommScope offers a family of copper-clad steel (CCS) and copper-clad aluminum (CCA) solutions that meet safety standards for indoor and outdoor grounding applications AND have little scrap value. In addition to theft deterrence, CCA and CCS offer lower purchase costs, greater durability and lower weights than solid copper.

CommScope’s BiMetals solutions are used in applications ranging from substation grounding to lightning protection to long-term protection for underground cabling. Click on the selections below to see specific grounding solutions for your application.