SaskPower said that yesterday's outage was caused by an attempted theft of copper wire north of Prince Albert. (Image Credit: Susan McNeil/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Shocking theft

Wide-spread power outage caused by copper wire theft attempt

Aug 19, 2026 | 4:00 PM

A power outage that covered much of northern Saskatchewan yesterday afternoon was the result of an attempted theft of copper wire from a place north of Prince Albert, according to SaskPower.

The lights went out just after 3:20 p.m. and covered an area that stretched from the Alberta provincial border in the West to the Manitoba provincial border in the East.

“The outage was a result of an attempted copper theft, but we haven’t, or we’re not aware of any injuries or anything related to the outage,” said Joel Cherry, speaking on behalf SaskPower.

About 13,000 customers were without power until it was restored at 8 p.m.

Thieves targeting copper wire is not a new issue for the Crown Corporation when in 2020, they lost over $41,000 to theft. The bigger risk is to the lives and safety of people coming in contact with live electrical wires.

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“Even though we are not aware of any injuries here, obviously it’s extremely dangerous to attempt to steal copper wire and can easily result in injury or death.”

SaskPower is asking anyone who comes across damaged electrical equipment or power infrastructure to call its outage centre at 310-2220. Cherry said anyone with information about theft or vandalism involving power infrastructure should contact their local police service.

No injuries were reported in connection with the outage.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

by Susan McNeil

Wide-spread power outage caused by copper wire theft attempt

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