POWERGRAMS

8 by Gilbert Nicholson • Photos by Mark Jerald Alabama Power. In an ironic twist, the thief later ran for public office and formally requested Causey endorse his campaign. Causey politely declined. "Of the vast majority of those we catch illegally tampering and stealing electricity, 90 percent do not repeat, and become regularly paying customers," Causey said. "Most cases end with a confession and the party allowed to make amends with the company." The recovery efforts required new partnerships with law enforcement, court officials, district aorneys, city inspectors, property managers and other utilities. What grew out of those partnerships was MUST (Metro Utility Task Force). MUST – founded by Alabama Power, Alagasco and the Birmingham Water Works – started with 20 people, now has more than 200 people involved and has grown to include the Tuscaloosa area. Causey was the founder and first chairman, and later was on the board of the South Central Revenue Protection Association (SCRPA), a regional organization similar to MUST. The SCRPA board in 2013 created a utility the certification program to educate law enforcement about utility tampering and the. Causey lobbied SCRPA and several like-minded organizations to merge into what will become in 2017 the Southern States Revenue Protection Association. Causey will be the organization's inaugural president until 2019. "We are very proud of the gains experienced by this unique partnership," Stover said. "We hope this model can become a basis for all divisions of Alabama Power Company to experience the same level of success we are enjoying." Causey's law enforcement career started while at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee, when he joined the Rhea County Sheriff 's Department as a reserve deputy. He served different agencies as a SWAT team member, investigator and trained interrogator before joining Alabama Power's Corporate Security department in 2010. While his stint with APC is recent, he is a Southern Company man through and through. His father, Sam Causey Sr., retired in 2015 aer more than 40 years with the company. "When I was born, my first home was company-owned housing in north Georgia, where my father was an assistant plant operator for Georgia Power at Terrora Dam," Causey said. "My earliest memories involve our people and culture." Causey never knows what to expect when knocking on doors.

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