Bryanston residents have been left angered after they were plunged into darkness after the theft of underground cables from a substation.
The cables were stolen from the substation on the corner of St James Crescent and The River Road.
According to resident Anthony Puzzo, this is the third time this year the cables have been stolen from this spot. “The theft must have been in the early hours of 5 December.
“There was a big repair operation during October at the substation, but the cables were only laid at a depth of about 300mm, which is not up to code. Temporary aluminium bundle cables were replaced with permanent copper cables.”
Puzzo said the thieves knew which cables to cut and only cut the low voltage cables, but left the high voltage ones.
He met the technicians doing the repairs after the theft. “They suspect the vagrants in the area. We [however] thought the power went out due to the weather.”
A security guard in the area, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he saw two City Power contractors who attempted to gain access to the substation during the day, without success. “That night the cables were stolen.”
Ward 103 councillor Vincent Earp said, “The cable theft in Bryanston is endemic and causes a lot of anger and frustration for residents.”
Also read: Cable thieves caught red-handed in Morningside
He said cables that are regularly stolen are not placed a meter below the surface by the contractors. “In many cases, they are placed a few centimetres below the [soil] surface (some are not even covered properly) and are easily removed by thieves.”
After the stolen cables were replaced the cables were left uncovered by the contractors. “This has been reported to City Power Randburg who service the Bryanston area. City Power must perform quality checks on the work of their contractors to see that the work is done properly and that the area is reinstated and secure.”
Earp said a long-term solution would be to encase the cables outside the substation in concrete. “I don’t believe any cable should be laid less than 30cm below the ground surface. I think the contractor got away with not reinstating for too long. This needs to be monitored urgently. They should also fence the substation and put in lighting. This will [also] be a deterrent.”
Do you have a solution to prevent cable theft? Share your ideas with us by emailing our news editor at ashtynm@caxton.co.za
