Copper theft has always been a problem. Many say it's quickly becoming an emergency. Public safety is put at risk when copper GECs are removed due to theft. Without a GEC, a building’s electrical installation loses its connection to ground and becomes problematic. It becomes a hazard for shock and electrocution. With copper pricing escalating in sync with the growth of the Electric Vehicle (EV) industry, the potential for GECs to disappear is higher today than ever.
A CCS 40% GEC is engineered using wire made with Copper-Clad Steel 40%, a proven material that our nation’s utilities have used for grounding and bonding for a century.
CCS 40% reduces the incentive for theft in two ways. One, for copper thieves, it offers only a small fraction of the scrap-value of single-metal copper. Stealing CCS might not be worth the risk. Two, a CCS 40% GEC is very difficult to cut with typical wire snips. After only a few moments of attempting to cut CCS, many will realize the material is not single-metal copper.
Similar to a copper GEC, however, CCS is flexible and pliable. Because of annealing (material softened via heat-treating), a CCS 40% GEC is not springy, so it puts no back pressure on lugs and terminals after being installed. Copper-Clad Steel is referenced by name in NFPA 70 for use as a GEC and may be considered a “similar corrosion resistant material” to copper for grounding and bonding.
