After much struggle, the persistent issue of cable theft on Delmas Road in the east of Pretoria, near Moreleta Park has finally seen some relief, as the metro’s efforts have begun to show signs of success.
The costly copper cable theft on Delmas Road had been plaguing the area for months, draining millions of rand from the city’s coffers for repairs.
However, it has been almost four months without any further theft and disruption of life, according to the Ward 91 councillor Henning Viljoen.
The criminal syndicate has been ripping through the electrical infrastructure on Delmas Road causing trips and outages at Hollgate substation, which affected Lucky Bean Crescent.
The residents of Lucky Bean Crescent have been suffering from frequent power outages caused by cable theft and on average, had to wait nine hours for the power to be restored.
The cable theft, which used to occur two or three times a week, has left electrical infrastructure in ruins, with repair bills skyrocketing and ratepayers reeling.
The metro had said for the financial year 2023/24, a total of 41 theft incidents were reported in the area and repair work cost the city R3.6-million.
The city then applied to the Provincial Roads Department through a wayleave process, as the owners of the servitude on Delmas Road, to convert the existing underground cable to an aluminium overhead line network in the cable theft hotspot.
Viljoen said that after months and months of electrical infrastructure damage and power outages, the issue of cable theft has been curbed.
He said the metro roped in law enforcement agencies such as TMPD and SAPS for better visibility.
“We haven’t had a cable theft incident since about four months ago. This is all thanks to the patrols by TMPD.”
The ward councillor said things seem to be under control but this doesn’t mean they should let their guard down.
“Slow progress has been made and residents haven’t been having prolonged power outages.”
The cable theft has left residents frustrated over repeated thefts and has cost the city millions.
Tshwane has been exploring long-term solutions to curb cable theft, such as installing tamper-proof cables and using alternative materials less attractive to thieves.
In August, following a spree of cable theft in Morelata Park, residents, businesses and community organisations banded together to spearhead an initiative to tackle the scourge of cable theft.
The team cleaned the dense bush and overgrown vegetation under the overhead lines that have long concealed the cable lines from prying eyes.
“Last year we had a spate of cable theft, it happened frequently but we cleaned under the overhead lines and this helped prevent the scourge. Our intervention stopped the thieves,” said Deirdré van Helsdingen, the director of the Pretoria East Community Caring Forum (CCF).
Van Helsdingen added that better visibility and the rocks covering the cables would stop the thieves.
She said this would deter criminals from attempting to steal cables as they would have to remove the rocks while they are captured on cameras. Security and police will be able to catch them in the act.
The metro said the cost of energy loss in Tshwane is estimated at over R800-million a year.
The ongoing illegal electricity connections, cable theft and vandalism repairs as well as disruption to service delivery to ratepayers have cost the metro.
Losses have increased from the estimated R470-million in the 2022/2023 fiscal year to over R800-million in the 2023/2024 financial year.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said cable theft on Delmas Road has been drastically curbed.
“Currently, there is a team of TMPD patrolling at Nyala Substation along Delmas Road closer to the affected copper MV cable servitude. Therefore, theft has been reduced drastically.”
Mashigo said the city applied to replace the underground copper cables with aluminium cables.
“The application is not yet approved; the city is awaiting Telkom to give us a go-ahead as there is an existing Telkom line which is vandalised (inactive) next to our servitude where we plan to construct the overhead line.”
Mashigo said as soon as permission is granted, the city will inform the Provincial Roads Department so that it can complete its process.
“If the approval is not granted, an alternative will be sought.”
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