Criminals target streetlights for profit gain and illegal connections
Isaac Mangena said that they are continuously working on increasing security and employing the latest technology in monitoring the network which is vast and wide.
The residents of Boskruin, Bromhof, Northworld, Sonneglans, and Urrounds have expressed concerns about safety as winter approaches because many of their streets lack working streetlights.
Concerned Sonneglans resident Claudia Packman explained that she logged a call and reported on February 4, and nothing happened as her tickets were closed.
“I keep escalating with SMSs. It’s a huge security problem without lights. The crime in Sonneglans is out of control. It’s imperative to have the lights working.”
Isaac Mangena explained that City Power is recording unprecedented incidents of theft and vandalism of public streetlights across the City of Johannesburg, with Randburg, Roodepoort, and Inner City being hard-hit.
“We can confirm that there is a rise in the blatant attack on our electricity infrastructure, including the streetlights deliberately being mowed down on Malibongwe in Randburg. However, we have already fixed non-working streetlights in the following streets:
• Parrot Street
• Island Cove Street
• Pelikaan Street
• Bokmakierie Road
• Hawken Avenue
• Hope-Hoep Avenue
• Suikerbekkie Street
• Finfeet Close
• Dwars Street
He added that there have been some delays in fixing vandalised and non-working streetlights, but there has been a lot of progress in restoring them.
City Power is battling with the high demand to repair and replace damaged streetlights, which you would appreciate also comes with a hefty price tag.
“For instance, we spend millions of rands annually to replace stolen or damaged streetlights. Unfortunately, in hotspot areas such as Randburg, the streetlights are deliberately damaged shortly after we fix them. Cable theft and vandalism are serious problems that the utility is currently battling with, thus far, we have already lost over R160 million in the current financial year.
“These include streetlights, service cables, copper cable theft, illegal connections, vandalism to our mini-substations (MSS), and pole-mounted transformers (PMT) as they have copper bits. It is unfortunate, as these funds could have been used for general maintenance of our infrastructure and towards repairs during faults. We do apologise for the inconvenience caused by the delays in repairs, and we will promptly repair the remaining non-working lights by May 24, should all go according to plan.”
Mangena confirmed that criminals are targeting streetlights for their valuable copper components, which are crucial for establishing illegal electricity connections and they are valuable commodities in the black market or scrapyards, as they are easy to steal and sell for a significant profit.
Criminals are specifically looking for the luminaire components, which are critical in bypassing legal meters. They are also targeting, aerial bundle cables (ABC), which are durable and accessible cables that are frequently used by syndicates in informal settlements to also illegally connect homes, or taverns, creating what they call a ‘parallel electricity distribution enterprise’.
“Of course, this system undermines the utility’s authority and often involves criminals charging residents a monthly fee for stolen electricity. Our security intelligence has also confirmed some of these cables are used in illegal mining by Zama-Zamas to illuminate old mining shafts and for cooking under these old mine shafts. Streetlights are deliberately being mowed down.”
City Power also appeal to communities to partner with them in curbing this scourge of vandalism and theft of the infrastructure.
If residents notice anyone digging or fiddling with infrastructure, they may contact City Power on 011 490 7900/11.
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