Leveraging Relationships Among Electric Utilities and Law - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Leveraging Relationships Among Electric Utilities and Law - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Mar 27, 2024 364 likes •502 views

Leveraging Relationships Among Electric Utilities and Law Enforcement By: Chris Carlson, Major Grand River Dam Authority Police Department E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N

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E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y

Leveraging Relationships Among Electric Utilities and Law Enforcement

By: Chris Carlson, Major Grand River Dam Authority Police Department

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E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y

A Little about GRDA

  • GRDA – Grand River Dam Authority
  • Non-Appropriated State Agency of Oklahoma
  • Primarily a Public Power Provider
  • 3 Hydro Generation Assets – 512MW
  • 1 Combined Cycle Natural Gas Unit – 495MW
  • 1 Coal Generation Unit – 492 MW
  • Wind Generation Assets – 358MW
  • 36% Interest in Gas Plant – 457MW
  • 1200 Miles of Transmission Lines
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E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y

So How Does an Electric Utility Have a Police Department?

  • Hydro FERC License Requires the Authority to Provide Public Safety on

the Waters and Lands within the Project Boundaries

  • Oklahoma State Legislature Approved Statutes for Powers of Arrest in

any County GRDA Owns or Leases Property.

  • GRDA Power Touches 75 of the 77

Counties in Oklahoma.

  • GRDA Assets are Primarily within

the Northeast 26 Counties.

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E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y

About our Police Department

  • Mission and the Reason We Exist is to Protect the Authority’s Ability

to Produce Electricity.

  • Investigate All Crimes Against the Authority.
  • Public Safety on Three Lakes as well as the Illinois Scenic Rivers.
  • Assist County and Municipal LE

Agencies as a Service to the Community.

  • 38 Full-time Sworn Officers
  • 50 Part-time Sworn Officers

(Retired or Off-Duty from Fulltime Agency)

  • 10 Civilian Employees
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E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y

The Issue Many Utilities (& Industries) Face!

  • Theft.
  • Vandalism.
  • Surveillance (Casing) Facilities.
  • Expensive to Deter, Delay, Detect, or Aid in Response.
  • Unimpressive Response from Law Enforcement When Reported.
  • Lack of Successful Prosecution of Offenders.
  • Ineffective Statutes or Light Punishments.

GRDA Doesn’t Face these Near as Much!

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E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y

Why GRDA Doesn’t Have as Many

  • f Those Issues as Other Utilities!
  • Deterrence & Detection:
  • 24-Hour Police Officers Patrolling Remote Facilities Randomly.
  • 24-Hour Police Presence at Key Facilities (Control Centers and Main Coal/Gas

Generation Facility).

  • Deterrence & Response:
  • Immediate Police Response to Incidents
  • Thorough Investigations, Commonly Leading to Arrest of Offender(s)
  • Follow Through by Police Officers to Ensure a Successful Prosecution.
  • Access to LEADS Online (Mandated Database for the Sale of Scrap Copper).
  • Specifically Targeted Statutes Against Copper Theft.
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E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y

So What??

So Your Utility Doesn’t Have a Police Department! No Problem! Many Utilities Do Some of the Topics Covered Here… Many Utilities Could Do More! (And For Less Money Than Many Traditional Physical Security Devices and Equipment!)

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E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y

What To Do? And How?

  • Meet With the Relevant Law Enforcement Agencies (Jurisdictionally

Based)! (Most Have!)

  • Meet With Them Regularly – Train Them!
  • Start at the Top!
  • Walk Them Through Your Facilities!
  • Teach Them What to Look For! What you Care About!
  • Teach Them What to Do, or Who to Call At All Hours of the Day If They Find

Something!

  • Teach Them Safety Around Substations!
  • Show or Remind Them of the Connection of Copper Thieves and the

Offenders They are Commonly Out Hunting on Their Shifts.

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E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y

What Do We Do? And How? (Cont.)

  • Hire Off-Duty Officers to Work Part-Time!
  • A Shift a Week! (Armed or Unarmed)
  • Part-Time Employees with No Benefit Package Overhead!
  • How is That For Training Them…
  • What to Look For!
  • Or who to Call if They Find Something!
  • Safety and Comfortability Around Your Assets!
  • The Real Kicker… While They Aren’t On Your Clock When They at Their Full-Time

Police Job, Guaranteed They Have More of a Stake in Protecting Your Assets, Responding to and Following Through on Any Incidents.

  • And Since They Only Work a Shift a Week, You can Employee Several Of Them!

Imagine 10 Patrol Officers in a County That Work Different Shifts for the County, All More Trained and More Vested in Your Assets! Its Like you Have A Police Department!

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E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y

State Statute Involvement

  • Be Familiar With a Couple of Key Statues
  • Vandalism
  • Larceny
  • Mandatory Logging of Scrap Copper Sales
  • Any Utility Specific Laws For Those
  • Educate the LE Agencies, DA’s Office, and Judges If Possible
  • If No Specific Utility Laws Exist, Maybe Taking an Active Role in

Changing or Creating Them.

  • Oklahoma:
  • Felony to Damage
  • Mandatory Logging of Sales of Scrap Copper
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E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y

Oklahoma Statutes

  • Copper Sales over 35lbs
  • Photocopy of DL; Vehicle Desc and Tag #; Date and Time; Desc of Items and Weight; No

Burned Copper unless exempted seller; No purchase from Minors

  • http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/deliverdocument.asp?id=474052&hits=
  • Receiving or Transporting Stolen Copper
  • Felony to: Receive, Transport, or Possess, Stolen Copper (known or should have known

to be stolen).

  • 1-5 years imprisonment and $100 - $500 Fine
  • http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/deliverdocument.asp?id=70087&hits=
  • Trespass and Damage to Critical Infrastructure Facility
  • Misdemeanor to Trespass (Not less than $1,000 Fine and/or 6 Months County Jail)
  • Felony to Damage Vandalize Critical Infrastructure ($100,000 Fine / Not more 10 years)
  • http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/deliverdocument.asp?id=481112&hits=
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E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y

Questions / Comments?