Cable theft, vandalism cost City Power R236 million as outages persist

City Power says cable theft and vandalism cost it R236 million in infrastructure replacement during the 2025/2026 financial year, as recurring electricity outages continue to frustrate Johannesburg residents.

The utility says approximately 20% of power outages across its network are linked to these criminal activities, which divert resources from planned maintenance and network upgrades to emergency repairs.

The latest figures were revealed at City Power’s ninth Regional Electricity Imbizo in South Hills this week, where residents raised concerns about unreliable electricity supply, ageing infrastructure and the quality of repairs.

Acting Chief Executive Officer, Charles Tlouane, acknowledged residents’ growing frustration, particularly in areas supplied by ageing substations, including Wemmer and Moffat.

He says City Power is moving beyond routine repairs by replacing key components and phasing out obsolete equipment.

However, cable theft and vandalism continue to undermine efforts to improve the reliability of the city’s electricity network.

City Power has approached the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) for assistance in combating infrastructure crime, particularly in the Johannesburg inner-city tunnels.

The utility is also working with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and other law enforcement agencies, but says protecting its extensive network remains a challenge.

The problem also affects public lighting, with City Power spending R161.8 million addressing streetlight vandalism and theft during the 2024/2025 financial year.

The utility is responsible for almost 400,000 streetlights and approximately 50,000 kilometres of low-voltage electricity cables.

“Cable theft and vandalism are not only criminal acts; they directly undermine our ability to provide reliable electricity to communities,” Tlouane said.

He urged residents, Community Policing Forums and law enforcement agencies to work together to protect public infrastructure.

The warning comes as parts of Johannesburg’s inner city continue to experience electricity disruptions.

Last week, City Power restored supply to Braamfontein, Parktown, Parktown West, Wits University and surrounding areas following extensive vandalism and cable theft at the Braamfontein Substation.

Meanwhile, residents in parts of the inner city previously endured prolonged outages following an explosion and four separate fires at the Central Substation.

On Thursday, City Power dispatched operators to investigate another outage affecting Marshalltown, which is supplied by the substation. The cause had not yet been confirmed.

#InnerCitySDC #CityPowerUpdates

*Central Substation:*
Operators have been dispatched to investigate the cause of the outage affecting customers in Marshalltown.

Repairs and restoration processes will be guided by the assessment conducted at the substation.

Developments will be communicated in subsequent reports.

In the event of power disruptions, customers will be updated on the Inner-City SDC WhatsApp channel: https://t.co/2oCuOpWrDO as well as on social media @CityPowerJhb.

For isolated individual calls and any other electricity-related queries, customers are advised to log calls on https://t.co/IJC4ePTaAo or call 011 490 7484/ 0800 202 925 for assistance. ^MJ

— @CityPowerJhb (@CityPowerJhb) October 29, 2026

With the local government elections scheduled for 4 November, reliable electricity supply remains a key concern for residents, as City Power points to criminal activity and ageing infrastructure as major causes of disruptions.

Beyond outages, City Power says it is also intensifying efforts to remove illegal electricity connections, particularly in hijacked buildings, where unauthorised connections and unaccounted-for consumption place additional pressure on its finances.

The utility’s board says the financial ring-fencing of its electricity business, which began on 1 October, is intended to ensure that funds allocated to electricity operations remain available for maintenance and infrastructure investment.

@CityPowerJhb Can we have updates on central substation it’s been 5 hours since you said operators on site and investigating, 9 hours without power and 8 hours since we reported …. When is ETR , we can’t afford another long outage .

— Dilly Dally (@Maud96300886260) October 29, 2026

@CityPowerJhb Why don’t you get people that know what they are doing. The people are tired of this nonsense. !!!!!!

— Gary Sartor (@GarySartorpower) October 29, 2026