Today, Mayor Frey and City of Minneapolis leaders announced they will direct $1 million from the city’s contingency funds to address street lighting outages caused by copper wire theft. Public Works estimates 450 lights throughout the city are currently out due to wire theft. The additional funding will allow the City to hire more seasonal electricians, use more rental equipment and purchase more material for repairs. The extra resources will accelerate the repair of 450 streetlights that are out due to wire theft and complete a backlog of repairs that have been accumulating.
“Keeping the street lights on is not optional, it’s essential for safe streets and enjoying our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Jacob Frey. “With $1 million from our contingency fund, we’re ramping up repairs on the 450 damaged streetlights. Thank you to our dedicated Public Works team for making sure Minneapolis stays safe, friendly, and bright!”
“When issues emerge that are impacting our community, it’s our duty to respond," said Margaret Anderson Kelliher, City Operations Officer. "We've worked together to develop a plan to use resources from our contingency fund, accelerate repairs and mitigate future theft."
Wire theft from street lighting has been steadily increasing since 2022. Public Works crews resumed large scale wire repairs in April with support from additional electricians to address the backlog of repairs. So far this year, about 4.5 miles of repair work has been completed with an estimated 17 miles remaining.
According to a recent Public Works estimate, it costs the City around $40,000 to repair and replace a mile of stolen wire. A mile of wire can be stolen in just one evening but takes a full week to replace. Public Works will organize and coordinate the increased resources to accelerate repair timelines for as many neighborhoods as possible.
“Public Works takes great pride in taking care of our city’s infrastructure. Our crews have been working non-stop in addressing as many of these important repairs as possible,” said Bryan Dodds, Deputy Director of Public Works. “Thank you to Mayor Frey and Council for giving us the additional resources to turn more lights back on in more neighborhoods.”
Public Works has seen progress in deterring theft by replacing copper wiring with aluminum. Aluminum wiring is approximately 75% less expensive to purchase and resell. Last year, more than 10 miles of underground aluminum wiring was installed, the majority of which is still in place. A new statewide copper wire theft law also went into effect January 1. Public Works will monitor the impacts of the new law and its effectiveness.
If a streetlight is out in your neighborhood, report it to 311 for repairs. Only Public Works employees or licensed contractors should be accessing streetlight infrastructure. If you suspect active wire theft, call 911.