Eskom calls on WC residents to unite against infrastructure theft & vandalism
CAPE TOWN - Eskom in the Western Cape is calling on the public to unite against theft and vandalism.
The call comes as some 70 residents in Belhar are still without power, after criminals vandalised substations in the area.
The power utility said that since May this year, 12 substations in Belhar had been damaged, leaving scores of residents without power.
It said that five recently vandalised substations still needed to be repaired.
Eskom Western Cape spokesperson, Kyle Cookson, said that they had spent more than R29 million on repairs as a result of theft and vandalism in the last financial year (2024-2025).
"Eskom has observed a sharp increase in theft and vandalism across our areas in the Cape Metropole recently and in response, Eskom took a hands-off approach by adopting a firm stance against repeated vandalism by deprioritising repair or replacement of frequently targeted infrastructure."
He said that repeated repairs to vandalised substations had been paused until they found a solution to the criminal activity.
"At the end of the day, we want our customers to treat Eskom infrastructure as a shared community asset which is intended to benefit all residents. We invest millions of rand annually in repairing and replacing damaged equipment."
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