Pretoria - Tshwane MMC for Utilities and Regional Operations, Daryl Johnston, has decried the ongoing blackouts implemented by Eskom as it continued to damage municipal electricity infrastructure.
Eskom this week ramped up the nationwide blackouts to stage 4, causing rotational power outages at least two or three times a day in different parts of the country.
Johnston said blackouts in general had a negative impact on municipal infrastructure and electricity networks "which were never designed to be continuously turned on and off as a result of Eskom implementing prolonged load shedding”.
According to him, there was a concerning trend where the municipal electricity network was being deliberately targeted during blackouts by criminals looking to either steal or vandalise the infrastructure.
“We have had a spike of vandalism targeting our sub-stations across Tshwane on almost a daily basis.
“Residents should be aware that cable theft and damages to our sub-stations are hindering our ability to provide stable power supply in the city,” he said.
Johnston said the municipality was exploring new security technology to protect the infrastructure and was also working with the Tshwane Metro Police Department to prevent and respond faster to incidents of infrastructure vandalism.
“However, the reality is that we need your help as residents: we need more eyes on the ground and this means reporting to authorities when you spot suspicious activity around our infrastructure,” he said.
He appealed to neighbourhood watches, security companies and community policing forums to assist in catching these criminals where possible.
“We cannot allow damage to our infrastructure to continue unabated. Working together, we must push back and fight these criminals lawfully,” he said.
Pretoria News