R50 000 worth of repairs had to be made to the Chakas Rock substation last week after thieves made off with cables, plunging the area into darkness.
Large sections of Ballito, Salt Rock and Chakas Rock had their lights cut-off for nearly 18 hours.Thieves sole 15 metres of the 33kv cable that feeds the Chakas Rock substation.
Head of KwaDukuza’s electrical engineering, Nhlakanipho Biyela confirmed that cable had been stolen. The power was only restored in the area on Tuesday evening.
Contractors were called on site and had to replace the stolen cable.
Once it was replaced, security guards were posted at the substation to make sure cable thieves did not make off with the new cable.
“In the past where there has been cable theft, we put cages above the segment of replaced line to protect against further theft,” said Biyela
According to Biyela security guards will be posted at the Chakas Rock substation for an extended period, as it is quite costly to dig up and cage off the replaced cable.
Biyela also said that theft has been a problem affecting the Southern Network, which feeds the Salt Rock area.
