Torres, Ind.-Saipan, said recycling firms now pay $4.50 per kilo for used copper wire — up by $2 compared to previous rates.
He said the higher value set for used copper wire among recycling firms may further encourage thieves to attack public and private facilities using such metal.
Public Law 15-55 prohibits recycling center from shipping out of the CNMI copper wires within 45 days after buying them.
The 45-day waiting period is designed to let law enforcement authorities do its job in cases where copper wire theft incidents are reported.
Under P.L. 15-55, the Department of Public Safety and the Division of Customs are mandated to investigate shipments of recycled product for compliance.
Recycling firms are also required to take basic information from sellers of copper wire to enable authorities to check on them in case there are reports of copper wire theft on the islands.
The measure came about after the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. and businesses lost hundreds of thousands of valuable copper wire.
“The theft not only costs business owners and taxpayers financial loss but also interferes with the provision of electricity to homes, stores, and other critical infrastructure. Too often, this wire is stolen, stripped down and resold as after-market wire,” P.L. 15-55 states.
Copper wires sold to recycling firms are typically shipped to China where the demand for such metal is high.
Torres said some recycling firms are not following the mandates of P.L. 15-55, and there is no set penalty for violating the 45-day waiting period.
He said a total ban on selling copper wire to recycling firms should help the community curb problems related to it.
The House PUTC committee held its meeting last week and copper wire thief was its top agenda.
Saipan Republican Rep. Eliceo D. Cabrera is the vice chairman of the committee.
The committee members are House Minority Leader Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan, Antonio P. Sablan, R-Saipan, Francisco S. Dela Cruz, R-Saipan, Teresita A. Santos, Ind.-Rota, and Fredrick P. Deleon Guerrero, Ind.-Saipan.
