POLOKWANE – Last Wednesday, cable theft at the Lota substation left a huge part of the city without electricity for hours.
Read more: [UPDATE] Power should be restored to Sterpark, Thornhill and surrounding areas by tomorrow morning
Polokwane Spokesperson Matshidiso Mothapo said a report is not yet available.
“It was not a lot of cable that was stolen, and the extent of the damage caused to the electrical communication infrastructure or units at the substation, was serious.”
Mothapo told BONUS there was a serious issue late last year with the theft of mini-substation components and cables, but that syndicate members were eventually arrested.
Read more: Cable theft leads to power outages in Bendor, Dalmada and Seshego Zone 6
In November, nine substations in Seshego were vandalised, with the cost over R1 million for repairs and installations of electrical components. Mothapo said the other challenging areas were in the Luthuli area and in Seshego zones 5 to 8, where cables are stolen from households.
“So far the municipality had to use more than 12 drums of cable to replace stolen cables. Each drum contains 300 m of cable and costs around R200 000,” Mothapo said.
“Ongoing theft and vandalism negatively impact the day-to-day lives of the community, and their safety and security. For business it means that there will be a loss of income and production for the duration of the downtime, with possible loss of jobs as a result.”
Copper theft is an ongoing problem, with many reports in the media.
Of the more publicised cases locally are the case where a copper thief tried to sell 395,5 kg copper in Ladanna with a street value of R20 000 in 2017, and in 2018 where copper to the value of R240 000 was found at a local scrap metal dealer and 20 metres of thick cable worth R500 per metre were recovered, and in 2014, R700 000’s worth of cables and 800 kg of copper, one of the biggest heists led to the arrest of cable thieves.
The going price that cable thieves can realise for copper at scrap yards is around R40 per kg, but most local scrap yards dealing in copper said they only deal with known electrical contractors who may have cut-off cables or buy cables at auctions.
“If a dodgy person comes with copper, I send him to get a sworn affidavit at the police station,” one of the scrap dealers told BONUS.
Scrap yards by law must keep copper for seven days, with the sellers’ ID number and contact details. Most of the copper is exported to China and India.
A minimum jail sentence of three years is prescribed for the possession of copper since the Amended Criminal Matters Act came into effect in May 2016. Harsh sentences and conditions of bail have been imposed for the damaging of infrastructure such as transport, water, power and communications, which is seen as the disruption of essential services. Specific reference is made to copper theft.
Mothapo said he couldn’t elaborate about the security measures at substations, but he did confirm there are 24-hour surveillance cameras, backed up by armed response. He said there have been a few arrests since the system was installed at substations, and the system is undergoing continuous improvements.
