Electricity supply has been restored to Lavender Hill and Seawinds after weeks of repeated power outages caused by a sustained wave of vandalism and theft targeting electrical infrastructure in the area.

Mayco member for Energy Xanthea Limberg confirmed teams had attended to an outage in Lavender Hill on Sunday 26 July, affecting Hilary Road and surrounding streets, with power restored the same day.

Power stations vandalised

The Seawinds outage was resolved on Monday 27 July.

Ward 68 councillor Marita Petersen said multiple substations and kiosks had been continuously vandalised over three weeks, leaving residents without electricity for extended periods.

“Residents of Lavender Hill have suffered severely over these last three weeks,” she said, adding that the vandalisation of multiple substations “not only costs the City but ratepayers as well.

“Our infrastructure is being damaged and vandalised, leaving residents without power, and very few report the perpetrators, which is unacceptable.”

Limberg acknowledged the toll on residents and said the City’s energy teams continually responded to outages across the metro, but noted safety conditions may occasionally impact restoration times as law-enforcement support was sometimes required.

Repairing infrastrucure

“Theft, vandalism and illegal connections cost the City over R60 million a year,” said Limberg.

“In several areas throughout the city electricity teams repair infrastructure as well as streetlights, only to find that the infrastructure was vandalised again the very next day.”

To combat the crisis, the City has launched its Protect Your Power campaign, which includes replacing copper conductors with lower street-value alternatives, investing in an Energy safety team, and piloting anti-theft and vandalism technology.

“We call on communities across the city to help keep the lights on and to adopt the electricity infrastructure in their neighbourhoods,” said Limberg.

“When we all work together, we can make a big impact.”

The City provides regular updates on planned and unplanned outages via its social media platforms at least three times daily, including weekends and public holidays.

Residents can report suspicious behaviour and vandalism to 021 480 7700 or contact the City on 086 010 3089 and email contact.us@capetown.gov.za for service-related matters.

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