Pretoria - Eskom has urged residents in the north of Tshwane to work with them and law enforcement agencies to stem the growing acts of vandalism and cable theft that have resulted in frequent power cuts.
For the past two weeks, residents in areas such as Mabopane, Winterveldt, and Slovo have had to deal with regular power cuts for days at a stretch or having to unplug their appliances as the power supply kept going off and on at different times.
Mashangu Xivambu, the senior manager for operations and maintenance in Gauteng, said their technicians had been working around the clock to restore the power supply to over 24 000 customers who had been left in the dark following an interruption to the power supply in the area.
Xivambu said the interruption of the power supply came as a result of incidents of cable theft at the utility's Hangklip substation on July 29.
He said the utility had noticed there had been a concerning increase in theft and vandalism of electricity equipment in recent months.
“We would like to appeal to the public to partner with us in reducing electricity-related criminal activities by reporting illegal connections, theft, and vandalism of electricity infrastructure to the Eskom crime line."
"The battle to stop electricity theft can only be won if community members work together with Eskom and law enforcement agencies.”
While technicians will continue to work around the clock to restore power, Xivambu said they were unable to determine the exact period it would take to finalise the repairs as the cable theft had resulted in complex damage to the substation.
“We urge our customers in the affected areas to be patient as we work on restoring their electricity supply."
Tshwane Metro Police Department spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said the City's cable theft unit was still conducting patrols, particularly around the City's hotspots.
Mahamba said the unit had made numerous arrests and would continue to monitor the situation in the City.
Some of the hotspots plagued by cable theft include Mabopane, Soshanguve, Olivenhoutbosch, Mamelodi, and Ga-Rankuwa.
Pretoria News