Mounting cable theft in Alex a worry – City Power
ALEXANDRA – City Power said it could be forced to withdraw its technicians if threats against them continue in Alexandra.
The wanton destruction of City Power’s infrastructure in Alexandra has risen to unacceptably high levels and threats to its staff may result in them being withdrawn.
Last week a substation was vandalised by criminals causing electricity supply interruptions in the community. These acts of criminality not only pose a serious risk to public safety but have a negative impact on service delivery, said City Power’s managing director, Sicelo Xulu in a statement.
“It has come to our attention that our technicians often feel threatened when they are dispatched to resolve outages or conduct maintenance-related work in the community of Alexandra.
“The safety of our technicians is our first priority. We will not hesitate to withdraw them from any potential risk or hostile environment. By doing so, we are unable to meet our service delivery imperatives because work must be temporarily halted until it is safe for our technicians to return to the community.”
City Power urges residents to report suspicious or fraudulent behaviour in the area to its toll-free number 0800 002 587 or Saps 10111.
“We have opened up a case of theft and vandalism with police this last week and we also encourage residents to support us in our fight against theft and vandalism,” said Xulu.
“The more cases that are reported, the easier it becomes for City Power to dispatch the correct resources to the area where they are most required. City Power officials and contractors will be escorted by the Metro police when attending to power outages and they have deployed response vehicles which patrol high-risk areas prone to theft and vandalism of our infrastructure.
“We have also conducted joint operations with the police, Metro police and scrap metal dealers because we know this is where the transaction of stolen cables usually occurs.”
In the past financial year, City Power has made over 250 arrests related to cable theft and structural damage to the infrastructure. Over R14 million is lost annually in the City of Johannesburg due to theft and network vandalism.
“The business has taken a decision to install aerial bundle conductors to deter cable thieves. The conductors are made of aluminium, which is of no value to cable-theft syndicates. We have also started replacing lattice pylons with monopoles,” Xulu said.
City Power is also conducting educational awareness and engagement in communities affected by theft and vandalism. Residents should also report suspicious trolley pushers should they suspect them of cable theft.
Read: Cable theft causes power outages in Alex
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