Why Alex has been plagued by a series of power outages
01 February 2017
The spate of power outages that have been plaguing Alexandra and surrounding areas in northern Johannesburg have been linked to rampant and escalating incidents of vandalism of infrastructure and cable theft.
City Power, the City of Johannesburg’s electricity utility, had noticed a surge in power outages in these areas over the past few weeks. Investigations pointed to vandalism and cable theft as the main causes of the outages.
As a result, the power utility has appealed to residents to report any suspicious behaviour or fraudulent conduct as these incidents compromise the stability of the network and impact on service delivery.
“The more frequent residents report vandalism and cable theft incidents, the easier it becomes for City Power to monitor trends related to cable theft in communities where these crimes are committed. This information ensures that correct resources are dispatched to areas where they are most required,” says City Power spokesperson Yumna Sheik.
Sheik says City Power will also embark on educational awareness campaigns in the affected areas to deal with the challenges.
In the past financial year, the entity arrested 250 people in connection with cable theft and damage to infrastructure. The City loses more than R30-million annually to cable theft and vandalism. In the 2014-2015 financial year, South Africa lost over R300-million to cable theft, fuelling calls for legislation to be passed declaring it treasonous.
City Power has launched several campaigns to fight the scourge, including using response vehicles to patrol high-risk areas.
“However, there are limitations as patrol vehicles are unable to cover large areas, making it difficult to prevent every cable theft incident,” says Sheik.
The utility has also installed aerial bundle conductors across the city to discourage cable theft. Power outages are also caused by illegal connections as they overload the system and render power supply service unreliable.
Many people, including children, have been electrocuted as a result of these illegal connections.
Cable theft can be reported anonymously to the following numbers: 0800 002 587 or (011) 490-7504/7553/7911/7900.
The Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) has also taken preventative measures to curb the theft and vandalism of traffic lights.
More than 365 cases of the theft and vandalism of the City’s traffic signals were reported to the police in the 2014-2015 financial year alone.
JRA has spent more than R10-million on installing CCTV cameras and sensors to detect and respond to these incidents.