Umhlanga Rocks Drive cable theft angers residents
While two of the access doors are secured with padlocks, a third door on the side of the substation has been compromised for more than a year said residents.
RESIDENTS voiced their anger over the continued theft of copper cabling from a substation on Umhlanga Rocks Drive (in the vicinity of Margaret Maytom Avenue). Last week the neutral cable from a substation on the road was stolen for the third time in two weeks, less than 12 hours after it had been repaired.
While two of the access doors are secured with padlocks, a third door on the side of the substation has been compromised for more than a year said residents. One half of the door is damaged while the other side is various pieces of wood nailed together.
The continued theft caused hundreds of thousands of Rands worth of damage due to power surges as a result of the cable theft.
John Morton, who runs the Rinaldo Road Vetinary Hospital located right next door to the substation, said he has lost more than R20 000 worth of equipment.
“It blew out a microwave, TVs, a scale inside the practice. When the theft happened we just saw the lights flickering like you see in a horror movie. I’ve contacted my home insurance who will only cover me if it’s lightning damage and I’m now told that cable theft means you cannot bill the municipality for damages. The door that the thieves gained access through is completely inadequate. The measures by the City to try and secure it is also non-existent,” he said.
Michelle van den Berg, who runs Karoo Kitchen, situated across the road from the substation, said the situation was unacceptable.
“I feel like iron doors would be better to secure this substation. This damaged wooden door is not keeping anyone out. We lost so much of our stock due to the power outages and surges. I feel like the residents would be better off fixing it themselves,” she said.
Just days after the copper theft, Marshall Security arrested a suspect in the act of stealing copper cabling from an electrical substation on Blackburn Road.
The suspect is believed to be linked to a spate of incidents of cable thefts in the area. He was found with a backpack and a hacksaw.
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