At least 127 mini substations have been vandalised or had equipment stolen from them in the City of Joburg in the last financial year.
With one station costing about R800,000 to replace, City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the entity had to spend more than R100m to fix or replace them.
“Theft of copper cables, copper components, ring main units, circuit breakers and other materials within the MSSs [mini substations] has a significant and damaging impact on our business and residential customers,” he said.
“When an MSS is stripped bare, it leads to immediate and prolonged power outages, disrupting production lines, halting services, and affecting day-to-day operations.”
Mangena said repeat incidents reduce productivity, increase operational costs, and damage business equipment.
“Each incident typically requires corrective maintenance at the same location, consuming critical spare parts that could have been used elsewhere in the network.
“This strains limited resources and forces City Power to divert teams and materials away from other essential maintenance work. Over time, this contributes to a backlog in service delivery and delays in infrastructure upgrades,” he said.
This strains limited resources and forces City Power to divert teams and materials away from other essential maintenance work. Over time, this contributes to a backlog in service delivery and delays in infrastructure upgrades
— City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena
“For businesses, frequent interruption of the power supply can discourage investor confidence and customer trust. In extreme cases, companies may choose to relocate to more stable areas, which leads to economic stagnation or decline in already vulnerable communities.
“The broader impact includes job losses, reduced local economic activity, and long-term development setbacks for affected areas,” he said.
Mangena said City Power’s maintenance teams are increasingly forced to conduct emergency repairs instead of scheduled upgrades.
“Each incident typically requires corrective maintenance using critical spares meant for other parts of the network. This stretches limited resources and creates a backlog,” he said.
To address the issue, Mangena said City Power has ramped up its security strategy.
“Response vehicles are deployed daily to patrol MSS sites, with the security department mandated to inspect at least 1,200 MSSs per month.”
He said that through City Power’s community partnership programme, over 800 mini substations have been adopted by residents; however, cable theft syndicates remain a threat.
“These mini substations adopted by residents, private security companies, and businesses assist in protecting infrastructure through neighbourhood watch and local initiatives.
“However, cable theft syndicates remain a serious threat, as they are often heavily armed and use various methods of operation to carry out their criminal activities. They are well organised, often heavily armed, and use sophisticated tactics,” Mangena said.
He said restoration times after a theft vary depending on the severity of the damage.
“In some cases, it takes seven to 10 working days, but in more severe cases, full power restoration can take up to 21 days. We are replacing and repairing damaged MSSs at an alarming rate due to ongoing theft and vandalism, faster than we can replenish the necessary materials and equipment.”
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