Surge in copper cable theft in Lions Grove in Port Shepstone
Residents are angry as the issued has been problematic for the last two years.
Residents of Lions Grove are experiencing widespread power outages due to the theft of electricity cables, leading to significant frustration and inconvenience.
Copper cable theft along Indira and Seaview roads and parts of Sastri Road have been rife over the past two years. This is in spite of regular patrols by security personnel on the lookout for suspicious activity at night.
Resident, Johnny Rajoo said some of the copper cables have been replaced with aluminium. These are also stolen and then dumped because they are not copper.
Also, the transformer unit switch serving Indira Road, trips sometimes. “What would take less than 10 minutes to resolve takes a few days to be addressed,” said Rajoo.
Another resident, Kavinder Manawer said with the infrastructure being old, it is easy for criminals to vandalise Eskom transformers.
“We have to think of alternative methods for the cabling system. Maybe, have the cables overhead or have them in a steel pipe, so it can’t be tampered with. Once all areas are converted to aluminium, I think cable theft will slow down,” added Manawer.
As Indira, Seaview and Sastri roads fall under Ward 23, residents request that the ward councillor address service delivery issues.
At the time of going to press, no comment was received from Eskom.
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