Residents carry cost of power surge damages

CABLE thieves caused a power surge in Glenwood on Friday 6 June which blew electrical appliances leaving residents in the suburb fuming.

Resident, Johann Pelser, was one of the lucky ones who noticed the problem on Thurday night and warned his neighbours in an attempt to minimise damage. “I was sitting and watching television and we had a coffee break so I went out on the balcony to smoke. I noticed a light on at the substation. Ordinarily I would be worried but I was reassured that the security alarm system the municipality had installed was very secure, so assumed bona fide electricians were working on it.”

It was only an hour later that Pelser realised it could be a bigger problem, when the lights in his home went extremely bright. “I knew the signs to look out for because we had a cable theft problem previously. I notified my neighbours to switch off their mains,” he said.

The next morning Pelser walked down to the substation and saw signs that there had been a definite break in and all the security measures discarded. “The first gate was open, the reinforced security gate was torn off its hinges with the door wide open and another window was broken and the steel burglar bar also torn open. The pepper spray cans which were supposed to stop vandals in their tracks were lying around and the alarm system that was to immediately notify the security company of a breach was also thrown on the ground. I tried to call the security call centre but they were not helpful and told me to call the number on my electricity bill to report the robbery,” he said.

Pelser was fortunate because the power surge that followed the theft of the neutral cable caused only some light bulb damage. “Fortunately I’m prepared for this sort of thing and have surge protectors on my appliances after losing appliances in the past, but what about the rest of the community? I heard many people woke up to damaged and blown appliances,” he added.

Doreen Palmer, was not so lucky. She had previously lost computers, a dishwasher, intercom and microwave to cable theft and Friday night’s surge damanged her intercom and security lights.

Suren Madhan, Operations Manager at eThekwini Electricity said they the department was making every effort to curb theft of infrastructure and protection mechanisms were being rolled out to cover all high risk substations.

“Customers in high risk areas are urged to ensure their insurance covers such incidences or install protection devices on their distribution boards to prevent over-voltage and electrical spikes to their appliances.

“Our Municipal by-laws are clear that claims are only valid if there is willful or negligence on the part of the electricity dept. Claims on incidences on the network that are beyond our control are not covered by the Unit’s insurance,” Madhan said.

He urged the public to get hold of the police if cable theft was suspected and said residents should call the “quick response” number 031 3119611.

Madhan explained that when the neutral bar is cut or disconnected, an immediate over-voltage would be seen on the customer appliances which left very little time for customers to react. “Even if the customer switches off his appliances or distribution board, the appliance will still be affected if he switches on before the problem is rectified.”