Mogale City’s Energy Services received reports of a power outage on Sunday evening from Eleadah Complex residents in Randfontein which falls under the Mogale energy-supplied areas. Our technical team arrived on site for an assessment on Monday, 17 January and the following was discovered and also unfolded:
- That intruders had severely damaged and stolen a piece of cable that supplies power to Eleadah Complex
- Mogale City technicians began with restoration process by replacing the stolen cable. On completion, the cable was tested but it indicated further signs of multiple damages
- Locating the fault on the cable underground took long due to the noise emanating from motor vehicles along the R28, but was eventually identified
- On further assessment, multiple faults were found on the cable and the damage caused during the theft was too major for an immediate repair as it called for a complete replacement
- A decision to replace the whole 600m of cable was then taken as it would not make financial sense to repair the faulty cable, and
- Work is currently underway to install the new cable, which is expected to be completed by tomorrow Saturday 22 January 2022 if not tonight on Friday 21 January 2022
While Mogale City technical team was busy with the power restoration work, the Municipality’s Public Safety and its security contractor arrested a man who was caught trying to steal another cable.
Mogale City as many other municipalities as well as Eskom is concerned by the vandalism and thievery of its infrastructure in various parts of the city, costing the municipality a substantial amount of money to replace. We urge members of the community to assist in curbing the theft by reporting the culprits.
The municipality would also like to take the opportunity to sincerely apologises to customers who have been affected by this crime – our technicians are working around the clock to fully restore power supply.