Metal thieves are risking lives is the warning from Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution.
The company has joined forces with the Scottish Government, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue and other distribution network operators to crackdown on the growing problem.
Thefts of cables, drums and equipment have risen in recent years as the price of metal has soared.
SSEPD staff attended a summit held in Glasgow to look at ways to tackle the issue and raise awareness of the dangers and impact on society.
Stewart Hughes, Deputy Head of Asset Protection at SSE, said metal theft is far from a victimless crime and working in partnership with Government, police, the fire service and other DNOs to share information is vital.
He said: "Through ongoing discussions within the Metal Theft sub group of the Scottish Business Resilience Centre, it became apparent that we needed to do more to assist the police in identifying potentially stolen cable, plant and equipment.
“We have been carrying out educational site visits to sub-stations and explaining how to identify our vehicles, equipment, cables and drums with police officers and have also been issuing all officers with an aide memoir to assist them."
The summit was organised by the Scottish Business Resilience Centre with Kenny McAskill, Scottish Government Justice Minister, promising tougher legislation and enforcement to tackle the issue.
Thieves targeting power infrastructure not only endanger their own lives but those of others too. Tampering with equipment can cause power surges which can result in fires breaking out, not to mention causing power cuts for homes and businesses.
SSEPD is continuing to work with partners to look at what more can be done to combat the problem.