Cable theft and vandalism plunge Ekurhuleni into power and water crisis

Criminal vandalism of electricity infrastructure across the City of Ekurhuleni continues to cost the municipality, businesses, and residents millions.

Ongoing incidents of cable theft and substation vandalism affecting both the City of Ekurhuleni and Eskom have severely disrupted power supply and resulted in significant revenue losses for both entities. Despite the scale of the problem, residents say there have been few consequences for those responsible.

For years, communities have called on authorities to strengthen security measures, including installing early detection systems and improving protection of critical infrastructure.

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The impact of these crimes has extended beyond the electricity supply.

In recent weeks, areas such as Wards 92 and 36 experienced severe water disruptions after cable theft cut power to key water pump stations and reservoirs.

As a result, residents and businesses reliant on these systems were left without a stable water supply, forcing many to seek alternative means to cope while simultaneously dealing with ongoing power outages.

“Although Eskom managed to restore electricity supply in affected areas, the situation worsened when additional CoE infrastructure was vandalised during the Eskom outage.

This left more communities without power, prolonging the crisis.

Residents have reported financial strain from spoiled food and rising generator costs, while businesses have also suffered losses from interrupted operations.

Speaking to local businessman Praveen Singh, of La Pasta, a pasta manufacturing company, he shared the impact of ongoing power interruptions on his operations.

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Singh, who has been running the business for 12 years, says production losses during outages make it difficult to meet daily targets and fulfil customer orders.

“We distribute our products to retailers. Once we lose production time, we are unable to meet our order requirements,” he said.

“We are spending close to R10 000 a day on fuel for generators. That’s money that should be going back into growing the business.”

He warned that if the situation persists, difficult decisions may lie ahead.

“If this continues, we may have no choice but to cut down on staff,” he added.

The impact of unreliable power supply extends beyond businesses. A church located next door to the factory has also been affected, relying on electricity for its Sunday services.

Like many others in the area, it has been forced to turn to generators to continue operating.

Ward 92 Councillor Kade Guerreiro says the power outage on March 28 was triggered by widespread vandalism of electricity infrastructure across the area.

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According to Guerreiro, approximately 19 substations were vandalised following a three-day outage caused by an Eskom cable fault.

He said criminals exploited the blackout, using the darkness to target infrastructure.

“During that period, criminals took advantage of the outage. About 17 streets had their overhead cables stolen, and multiple substations were vandalised,” he said.

He added that the situation escalated when members of the community apprehended a suspected vandal.

“One of the suspects was caught by residents on Main Road and assaulted. While we understand the level of frustration in the community due to ongoing service disruptions, we do not condone mob justice,” he said.

“It is unclear whether the suspect survived, but he was taken to the hospital.”

Guerreiro warned that rising frustration among residents is a direct result of persistent failures in service delivery and weak law enforcement.

“The message is clear, the community is angry. But taking the law into your own hands is not the solution. We are, however, facing serious challenges with law enforcement,” he added.

Guerreiro said repair teams were working carefully to ensure the network is fully restored and stable.

The councillor emphasised the broader impact of infrastructure vandalism, describing it as a “domino effect” that disrupts entire communities.

“One criminal act triggers a chain reaction. Businesses lose production and revenue, residents lose food, and many are forced to dip into their savings just to survive,” he said.

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Guerreiro has called on the CoE to urgently strengthen security around critical infrastructure to deter further incidents.

“We need the City to act decisively to secure its infrastructure and make it far more difficult for criminals to operate,” he said.

“The continued targeting of essential infrastructure underscores the urgent need for coordinated intervention to protect public utilities and prevent further disruption to livelihoods across the city,” said Guerreiro.

GCN has submitted requests for comment to the CoE and Eskom regarding their plans to secure vulnerable infrastructure.

The publication also sought clarity on the extent of damage caused by recent vandalism incidents and the estimated repair costs.
The requests were sent on March 31, with a response deadline of April 2 at 12:00.

At the time of going to print, no comment has been received.

GCN further engaged the Primrose SAPS for comment.

As of March 31, no murder cases linked to the incidents (mob justice) had been reported at the station.
However, three suspects were arrested for tampering with essential infrastructure between March 20 and March 31.