Thousands in south-east Qld without power after attempted copper theft

Approximately 13,000 residents across South East Queensland were plunged into darkness overnight following a reckless attempt to steal copper from high-voltage electrical infrastructure. Energex officials confirmed that an intruder breached a substation’s cable pit in an effort to sever an 11,000-volt line, triggering widespread outages and significant safety concerns across the region.

The incident, which occurred during the late hours, left emergency crews scrambling to restore essential services to a vast corridor of the coastal south-east. While copper theft remains a persistent challenge for utility providers due to rising scrap metal prices, the sheer audacity and scale of this interference highlight a dangerous disregard for public safety and the critical stability of the state’s power grid.

“This incident underscores a chilling intersection between desperate criminality and the inherent vulnerability of the essential infrastructure that sustains our modern daily lives.”

Engineering teams worked through the early hours of the morning to repair the damaged assets and successfully bring customers back online. Authorities are currently investigating the security breach, warning that tampering with high-voltage equipment is not only a serious criminal offence but a life-threatening gamble that places the perpetrator and the entire community at extreme risk.