City Power appealed for public support in an effort to curb the ongoing vandalism of street lights.
The rampant damage, cable theft and vandalism of timing devices on street lights is derailing ongoing efforts to save electricity, costing the utility millions of rands annually to replace the equipment.
According to the entity’s spokesperson, Hloni Motloung, the street lights across the City are fitted with timers that switch the lights off during the day and turn them on when it becomes dark.
“In the last few months, these timers have been a target of deliberate damage, which has led to the lights illuminating throughout the day and night. This allows criminal syndicates to use these circuits for illegal connections,” explained Motloung.
Vandalism and theft drastically reduced the normal lifespan of the light bulbs, which need to be replaced constantly, and hampered efforts to curtail electricity consumption.
“The widespread vandalism of electricity infrastructure impacts negatively on the security of the neighbourhoods and provision of quality service delivery to the residents of Johannesburg,” said Motloung.
City Power managing director Sicelo Xulu complained that those criminal acts were hampering the utility’s efforts of providing quality service. “This is costing the law-abiding ratepayers dearly. The theft and vandalism of public lighting infrastructure is not a victimless crime, but it is an act of economic sabotage,” said Xulu.
Xulu appealed to residents to report these acts of criminality and illegal connections to their nearest police station or call City Power anonymously on the 24-hour hotline 011 490 7553.
“Besides the cost of replacing the stolen cable and damaged equipment, it interferes with the delivery of other essential services. Cable theft is conservatively estimated to cost the South African economy about R5 billion a year directly and indirectly,” he further explained.
He concluded that the entity was looking at the development of technological solutions that will curb the theft of timers and other electricity infrastructure.
Details: City Power 011 490 7112.
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