Joburg power utility calls for army intervention to fight cable theft

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Joburg power utility calls for army intervention to fight cable theft-Myles Illidge

Johannesburg’s power utility, City Power, wants the army to help it fight theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure in the city, Sunday Times reports.

This comes after attempted cable theft ignited a large fire underneath the M1 highway, resulting in large areas of the metro suffering extended power outages.

Repairs are expected to take weeks to complete.

According to the report, City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava wrote to national police commissioner Fannie Masemola calling for army intervention.

Criminal syndicates allegedly targeted copper cabling on the double-decker section of the M1 feeding the Braamfontein area, damaging several 88kV and 11kV cables, a gas line, and one oil-filled cable.

The resulting fire knocked out power to parts of Braamfontein, Parkview, Parktown, Melville, Amalgam, and Vrededorp.

It also threatened the recently relaunched open cycle gas turbine substation nearby. Mashava said R100 million had been spent refurbishing it.

In her letter to the police commissioner, Mashava described cable theft and vandalism in the city as “escalating unabatedly” and said it poses a significant threat to the stability of its power supply.

She added that theft and vandalism had already cost City Power more than R160 million for the current financial year.

In September 2023, Mashava said the City of Johannesburg’s electricity network was teetering on the edge of total collapse due to load-shedding, theft, and vandalism.

She said residents lodge 4,000 electrical faults with City Power daily, but it only had enough manpower to attend to roughly 20% of the issues.

Mashava revealed that, due to breakdowns and crime, City Power had used a year’s worth of replacement parts in just three months.

Infrastructure vandalism and cable theft have been known problems in Johannesburg and other parts of the country for several years.

In April 2022, Eskom and City Power said they had seen a surge in copper cable thefts, with incidents occurring up to five times daily.

This came after two brazen and dangerous instances of cable theft and attempted cable theft had occurred in Soweto.

One event occurred in Nancefield, where thieves pulled 180 metres of copper cabling out of the ground with a bakkie — in broad daylight.

It was estimated that the cabling removed carried a value of R60,000 at the time.

The second incident occurred in Eldorado Park. Community members fed up with the brazen theft intervened, resulting in a shootout.

Eleven armed men were reportedly arrested following the incident.

The response from the Eldorado Park community wasn’t surprising, as the theft of electrical infrastructure often results in extensive power outages for the residents.

Bedfordview residents suffered a days-long power outage in late 2021. Cable thieves damaged a crucial cable in a failed attempt to steal it.

The cable powers the City of Ekurhuleni’s Bedfordview substation, and despite Eskom’s efforts to repair it quickly, power was only restored after several days.

source:https://mybroadband.co.za/news/energy/535137-joburg-power-utility-calls-for-army-intervention-to-fight-cable-theft.html

Natalie