News24 reported fed-up residents of Protea Glen in Soweto and Krugersdorp North are digging deeper into their pockets to safeguard electricity infrastructure against cable thieves. 

Mduduzi Hadebe from Protea Glen, and Shujit Ranchhoojee from Krugersdorp North, told News24 that, in addition to load-shedding, they were subjected to power outages as a result of cable thieves.

Hadebe and Ranchhoojee said cable thieves took advantage during load-shedding. 

Hadebe said 120 houses in extension 22 were recently plunged into darkness for three days after thieves vandalised their electricity power box and made off with copper cables. 

He said residents only became aware of it when power was restored in neighbouring areas, but not theirs.

Last Monday, residents started logging calls with Eskom to report the power outage, he said. 

"By Tuesday, we had received reference numbers from Eskom, but the issue was still not fixed. This was also when we picked up that the substation had been broken into and that all the cables inside it were gone," Hadebe said.

After the power was restored on Wednesday, the community convened a meeting in the presence of an Eskom technician.

"We agreed that we needed to cough up money per house. We also agreed that the men in the community would come back at 20:00 during load-shedding to guard the box until the structure was in place," said Hadebe. 

Hadebe said Eskom technicians would still have access to the electricity box should they need to unlock it during maintenance checks. 

"The leaders in our community told them they must let us know if they are coming, so they will be able to give them the keys or open for them, so they can access the electricity power box," said Hadebe. 

He said the community did not know who the culprits were. 

Residents of Krugersdorp North barricaded their electricity power box after falling victim to power outages and cable theft. PHOTO: Supplied

"We don't know who they are and I wouldn't want to speculate, but those people are professional. They know exactly what to do, how to do it, and how long it will take them. It's clear from the way they cut the cables they have the equipment," he said. 

Hadebe called for a permanent solution to cable theft and said it was unfortunate that residents were the ones taking responsibility to safeguard Eskom's infrastructure.  

"Eskom has some responsibility to safeguard these cables. Some residents don't pay, they just call and ask for power to be restored. They're working backward. They must find a way of securing that box to ensure that thugs don't steal cables again," he said. 

"Eskom has implemented measures to prevent cable theft, such as security guarding, frequent patrols of hot spots and installation of technologies. However, considering the geographical location of these cables, it is a challenge to completely prevent cable theft," News24 was told.

The power utility said it had spent more than R100 000 to replace cables stolen in the area.

'Risk of not having power'

About 16km from Protea Glen, residents of Krugersdorp North resorted to a similar solution two weeks ago after cable thieves targeted their area. 

Ranchhoojee said about 20 households contributed R150 each towards a similar structure after experiencing power outages due to copper cable theft. 

He said that, between April and June, residents and members of the community policing forum took turns to patrol their neighbourhood, but the patrols were halted when Eskom ramped up load-shedding to Stages 4 - 6. 

"There were six or seven of us who patrolled every time load-shedding occurred between 18:00 and 20:30. But it was getting cold and unsafe, so we decided to build the security gate," he said.

"Initially, we thought load shedding would not last for longer than five weeks - but, eventually, we saw the risk of not having power," said Ranchhoojee.

He said that, although this was only a temporary measure, it would provide residents with much-needed relief until a permanent solution was available. 

He said there hadn't been any incidents of cable theft since the installation of the steel bars.

News24