$5,000 reward offered for details about crime that caused power outage | Business

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the criminal responsible for breaking into the Brunswick Electric Membership Corporations’ Hickman’s Crossing substation in Calabash.

The person(s) broke in and committed vandalism that resulted in a power outage for approximately 3,600 customers from 11:30 p.m. until 12:20 a.m. on Tuesday night, according to BEMC spokesperson Linda Thomas.

BEMC CEO, Robert W. Leavitt, Jr., stated in a news release, “Trespassing on BEMC property and causing damage to our electric distribution system that results in any loss of service to our co-op members is not acceptable.  We are pursuing this investigation to the fullest extent, but at this time, we don’t want to impact the case by disclosing details.  Protecting the reliability of our system is a responsibility we take seriously and that’s why we’re offering this reward.”

Injuring wires and other fixtures of telephone, telegraph and electric-power companies is classified as a felony in North Carolina.

Anyone with information about the crime should call 910-754-4391 or 800-842-5871.

Thomas said the incident is being aggressively investigated by Brunswick Electric and specific details are not being released.

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