EXTENSIVE damage caused to the cable linking the eThekwini Municipality’s Livingstone Major Substation and the Kensington Distributor Substation has been identified as the root cause of one of this weekend’s major power outages in Morningside and Glenwood.

Municipal spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said cable thieves are suspected to have caused the damage that left several communities without power for over two days. She said the fault was first reported on Saturday and teams were immediately dispatched to check the fault.

“Upon inspection, teams discovered extensive damage along the cable route. Multiple faults were identified, and further investigation confirmed that the outage was caused by cable theft,” said Sisilana.

“Despite the complexity of the repairs, teams from the City’s Energy Management Directorate worked tirelessly throughout Sunday and into the early hours of Monday, restoring circuits step by step and ensuring electricity was fully reinstated to all affected customers.”

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Despite the City’s efforts to restore electricity to those affected, Ward 27 councillor Ernest Smith said the power went off again this afternoon (February 24) in Morningside. “I’m aware that certain blocks of flats have gone off again in the area,” said Smith.

“I have engaged directly with the head of electricity on this issue and have expedited the faults reported via the ward electricity group.”

Investigators have been sent out by the City to investigate the situation.

Sisilana said cable theft remains a citywide challenge that disrupts services and costs the municipality millions annually. “The Municipality reiterates that cable theft is a serious criminal offence. To reduce the risk, vulnerable copper cables are being replaced with aluminium alternatives, which are less attractive to criminals,” said Sisilana.

She added that eThekwini’s Energy Management Directorate is working closely with law enforcement agencies to ensure perpetrators of infrastructure theft are brought to justice. Residents are encouraged to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement. “The City sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused by the prolonged outage and thanks residents for their patience and understanding,” said Sisilana.

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