JOHANNESBURG – City Power said that increased cable theft, vandalism and now the added pressure of ramped-up power cuts had resulted in its system becoming more constrained.
The utility said that it had recorded 41 incidents of cable theft and vandalism over the last week alone.
The electricity service provider has flagged how vulnerable its system has become since rolling blackouts were intensified.
Power cuts were ramped up to stage 6 this week amid an ongoing wage strike at some Eskom power stations.
On Friday morning, Eskom announced that power cuts would be downgraded to stage 4 until 4pm on Friday afternoon but stage 6 would return thereafter.
City Power’s Isaac Mangena said that all the theft and vandalism incidents occurred during blackouts.
“Unfortunately, in our efforts to inform the residents so that they can plan their lives properly, criminals also use that to plan their evil ways. We have extra security personnel who we deploy in areas where there is load shedding and that’s why we’ve managed to arrest four suspects during this week,” Mangena said.
Source: Eyewitness News
Link: https://ewn.co.za/2022/07/01/cable-theft-vandalism-ramped-up-power-cuts-adding-to-grid-strain-city-power
