Brenthurst and some other suburbs were without electricity longer than anticipated last week as a result of criminals taking advantage of load-shedding.
Thieves had been using the scheduled blackouts as an opportune time to target mini substations and strip them of copper components and other valuable materials.
According to information received from Brakpan police, four incidents took place on November 9 alone. The first occurred at a mini substation along Lemmer Road after patrolling officers noticed the doors to the substation were open and stopped at around 01:10 to investigate.
They found the cables had been cut and stolen. Another incident was reported after coils valued at R350 000 were stolen from a transformer at a mini substation at the corner of Tweedy and Gate streets in Brenthurst.
The thieves also damaged the fencing and gate to gain access to the substation. This incident was reported at 07:44.
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Officers interviewed residents in the surrounding area and were informed there was load-shedding the previous evening from 22:00 to 00:30.
One woman reported her dog barking during the night near the back of the house where the substation is situated. There were also reports of five men picking up and loading pieces of copper into a grey Hyundai bakkie near the scene at around 06:30 that morning.
A mini substation along Millicent Street in Brenthurst was also targeted. Again, the thieves damaged the gate to gain access.
While some cables were cut, but not removed, there was extensive damage and it is reported that a new transformer is required at a cost of R350 000.
It is not known when the theft took place, but video footage from a CCTV camera in the area captured an explosion at the substation when the power came back on after load-shedding.
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A fourth vandalised and stripped mini substation was reported to Brakpan police at 17:18. This substation, which will have to be completely replaced at a cost of R600 000, is situated along Elsburg Road, near Carnival City.
All of the copper cables were stolen and the transformer was pulled out of the substation. A chain and some rope were left behind on the scene and the top cover of the transformer was found about 100m away in the surrounding bush.
Cases of tampering with infrastructure and theft of non-ferrous metals are under investigation.
Brandon Pretorius, councillor for Ward 97 in Brakpan, told the Herald his biggest concern regarding the incidents is the destruction of vital infrastructure.
“It seems like the mini substations that were vandalised were not done so for financial reasons but rather for pure destruction,” he said.
“It is the first time in my five years of serving as a councillor in Brakpan that I have seen anything of this nature.
“Load-shedding has obviously made it easy for the thieves/vandals to successfully do what they set out to do as there is no electrical current while load-shedding is implemented.
“Another concern in this regard is the fact that the mini substations are not something stocked in numbers and are quite difficult to find. They also come with a hefty price tag.”
Pretorius believes residents have been lucky this time around as the power was restored in less than two days.
“If something like this is to happen again anytime soon in any other area, residents might not be so lucky and the wait for repairs could go from days to weeks,” he said.
“It is, therefore, my plea that residents be more vigilant and aware of their surroundings, especially during load-shedding.
“It has now also become our responsibility to ensure the safety of our infrastructure. Local community policing forums have been informed and have already started implementing routes to try and prevent matters like this.”
He urged residents with any information about the thefts or perpetrators to come forward. Meanwhile, Eskom has reported that eight people have been arrested for theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure across Gauteng between October and November.
The arrests follow Eskom’s efforts to address the increasing incidents of illegal electricity-related activities in the province.
Two suspects died due to electrocution as they tampered with the electricity equipment in separate incidents. The suspects’ arrests were effected as a result of a partnership between Eskom, SAPS and members of various communities as they understand the impact that this has on their lives, the economy and Eskom’s ability to sustain services to them.
According to Eskom, copper theft costs the economy between R5-billion and R7-b a year, and Eskom spends about R2-b a year replacing stolen cables.
Eskom in Gauteng continues to heighten security in hotspot areas across its areas of supply as cable theft often leads to prolonged power outages and compromises the quality of supply, which affects businesses, essential services, as well as the day-to-day lives of society.
Such acts of criminality result in loss of revenue for Eskom, are unsustainable for the economy and endanger the lives of innocent people, including those of perpetrators.
“We are investigating and implementing alternative measures that will assist us to prevent the theft and vandalism of our equipment. “We also would like to thank communities that report such acts to Eskom and the SAPS,” said Kith Maitisa, Safety, Health, Environment, Quality and Security manager at Eskom.
“With the collaboration with the law-enforcement agencies, we will ensure that these criminals are arrested and brought to book.”
Members of the public are requested to report criminal activities, such as illegal connections, theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure to authorities or to the Eskom Crime Line on 0800 112 722.
