A brazen case of cable theft at around 14:25 yesterday has led to widespread power outages in Ballito. Two men raided the Ballito substation on Allen Drive near Townsend Park. One has since been apprehended by private security companies.

The theft in broad daylight, has caused havoc to the power supply, with Ward 6 councillor, Tammy Colley, confirming that much of Ballito’s residential area and as far south as Zimbali has been affected.

“I can confirm that affected areas are still off, but municipal teams are on scene.

“I have been told that the damage is extensive, but that the teams are working to restore it as fast as possible. No timeframe has yet been indicated,” says Colley.

After removing the copper cables – enough to fill a sack – the two men in their early thirties split up as they left on foot.

An alarm at the station tipped off local security companies and one of the suspects was spotted by an IPSS Security Company camera.

“We sent an armed car out to respond and found the man on Patricia Road. After searching his bag along with Alpha Security members, it was confirmed that he was one of the thieves,” says IPSS general manager, Glen Smith.

The man was apprehended and has been kept in custody until Umhlali SAPS are able to respond and arrest him.

No visuals have been established on the second suspect and he remains at large, says Smith.

Despite the power cut due to cable theft, Balito residents also had load-shedding on KwaDukuza’s southern grid (Zimbali to Tinley Manor) from 17:00 until 18:30.