City Power welcomes the arrest of six suspects for cable theft, vandalism and illegal connections from July 15 to 18.
Since Friday, City Power recorded at least 20 cable theft incidents, with the majority of them registered in the Moffat View policing precinct.
The arrested suspects include two Zimbabwean foreign nationals who were arrested in Kya Sands after being found by City Power’s security patrollers digging copper cables.
Another cable theft suspect was arrested around Jeppestown while cutting the cables.
The police with the help of the community also arrested three suspects for vandalism and illegal connections in the Brixton area. The suspects were found connecting themselves to the City Power network.
The area, which includes Crosby, is plagued by vandalism and cable theft.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the three are suspected to be part of a group that steals the ABC cables, illegally connects to the network, and then sell the illegal electricity to the residents in the nearby informal settlement. “This is the problem we are picking in most informal settlements across the City and we will intensify the arrests with the help of the police.
“Vandalism of the infrastructure and theft is the leading contributor to electricity supply problems in the City of Joburg, and cost City Power millions of Rands in lost revenue.
“We are encouraged by the contribution of the communities in these arrests, and appeal to others to report vandalism and theft of the infrastructure to the police on 10111, or City Power Risk Control on 011 490 7900/7911/7553, or WhatsApp us on 083 579 4497,” he said.
