City Power has confirmed that a man was arrested for vandalism of electricity infrastructure after he became stuck inside a mini-substation along Helpmekaar Road on May 1.

According to City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena, the man was not working alone.

“The mini-substation is fed from Fleurhof Switching Station,” he says, adding, “The individual was attempting to vandalise the infrastructure and became trapped inside the mini-substation. He was safely removed and arrested, and police are on track to apprehend additional suspects linked to this and other incidents.”

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Mangena adds that the incident was reported shortly after 08:00 by private security.

City Power teams responded and found the individual still inside the mini-substation.

“The complexity of the rescue operation and the safety measures required resulted in additional damage to the infrastructure. As a safety precaution, electricity supply in parts of Fleurhof was temporarily switched off to allow teams to carry out the operation safely.”

He says that this incident forms part of a broader and deeply concerning pattern of organised vandalism affecting the Roodepoort SDC network.

“This is the third mini-substation to be vandalised in Fleurhof since April. City Power extends its appreciation to private security for their vigilance and continued support in identifying and reporting such criminal activities in all our service operations.”

In total, 16 mini-substations have been vandalised across Roodepoort since the start of the year, at a cost of between R700 000 and R800 000 per unit, excluding labour, highlighting the scale of the crisis facing this Service Delivery Centre.

“These 16 incidents have been formally reported to police and are currently awaiting investigation outcomes.”

On April 30, suspected syndicate members went on a rampage across parts of Roodepoort, opening mini-substations, dismantling infrastructure, and removing copper components, while leaving other sites exposed and unsafe.

“City Power has been tracking this pattern of co-ordinated criminal activity in Roodepoort since December. The suspect arrested [on May 1] is believed to be part of this syndicate. Other individuals connected to the syndicate remain at large and are linked to ongoing acts of vandalism across different areas within Roodepoort.

“The mini-substation involved forms part of the infrastructure installed for a new development and was not yet supplying electricity. As such, no customers were directly affected by this specific damage.”

He reminds residents that City Power continues to observe a pattern where perpetrators access substations from the rear and deliberately damage components to cause oil leakage.

“This results in overheating and automatic shutdown of equipment, allowing further vandalism to take place.”

Residents are urged to report any suspicious activity near electricity infrastructure to the City Power Security Risk Management Control Room on 011 490 7911 or 011 490 7900, or via WhatsApp on 083 499 1179.