City Power has asked residents in various communities to remain vigilant and help protect infrastructure it claims has been “under siege”.
Some areas west of Johannesburg have been left in the dark after reports of cable theft and damage to electrical infrastructure.
cable theft
City Power says cable theft is a chronic problem.
“The cables on the South Road Bridge and Progress Road were stolen again last night, the third time in less than a week.”
Areas affected
“This left customers in Reefhaven, Lindhaven, Groblerpark, parts of Witpoortjie and the surrounding area without electricity,” he said.
City Power added another cable was also stolen in Florida the same night after it was replaced.
“This section has affected Florida View, Rand Leases Extension 5 (Rugby Club), sections of Fleurhof, Wilgeheuwel, Radiokop and Honeydew, and there is also no power due to stolen cables.”
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Restoration
City Power said the team was able to restore some areas.
“The team has been able to return some affected customers and is still at various sites working to identify the possibility of re-feeding in other areas.”
They said they still have materials to replace the stolen wiring and repair the vandalized equipment.
“Due to the magnitude of the work that needs to be done in all of these incidents as well as the lack of replacement materials, some areas affected by the outage may take several days before repairs and restoration can be completed.”
Outages
“Our infrastructure is targeted by these criminals and the burden also creates fertile ground for them. We ask the public to remain vigilant and help protect the infrastructure because it is clearly under siege,” said City Power.
However, customers should not take the law into their own hands. City Power has urged customers to report acts of cable theft and vandalism to the police or City Power Risk Control.
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