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The 2008 Copper Theft Report from Electrical Safety Foundation International showed that U.S. utilities spent more than $60 million and experienced over 456,000 outage minutes.

A significant quantity of sub-standard cable purporting to be CCA Cat 5e cable has been removed from an educational establishment in the Isle of Man following an investigation by the Approved Cables Initiative (ACI).

The ACI brought the issue of misselling data cable (Cat5e/Cat6) with Copper Clad Aluminium (CCA) to the attention of electrical contractors last year. Such cables are non-compliant with published national and international standards and although they don’t present a safety risk, the fact they do not perform properly will inevitably damage a contractor’s reputation.

Frank Peri, CCCA's Executive Director said that "Once again, we see disturbing test results that seem to fit the pattern uncovered with our testing of offshore bulk data communications cable. The overwhelming failure rate of these offshore patch cords is very unsettling, suggesting that the manufacturers exporting these products are likely aware they are selling faulty products.  The lack of third party verification with lesser known brands should put all users on alert to be sure they are getting the performance they expect and are paying for."

The growing demand for cost efficiency, enhanced safety, and reliability in power distribution systems has propelled the demand for busbar trunking systems in the utility sector. The electric distribution system is prefabricated and consists of a set of copper or aluminum bus bars suitably enclosed with superb protection against any foreign materials. Busbar trunking systems have emerged as highly efficient, safe, and ideal electric supply and distribution system suitable for a variety of industrial installations and in high-rise buildings. Enabled by compact design and standard plug-in boxes, these systems can deliver current in the range 125A to 2000A suitable for a wide variety of industrial purposes. They are gaining prominence over normal cabling systems due to a variety of factors.

Therefore, the Modern Building Alliance supports the idea suggested by the European Copper Institute and the Federation for the Safety of Electricity Users (Fisuel) that fire and electrical safety should be part of the social dimension of EU energy policy, and be addressed together with energy poverty.