Cable theft still an issue in Pta: How do they do it?

More than three incidents of cable theft take place in Pretoria on a daily basis and it takes thieves five to seven minutes to get their hands on the copper.

This was according to a Tshwane metro electricity official who wished to remain anonymous.

The official told Rekord that he believed a syndicate was behind the thefts but some cases were probably isolated criminal opportunists.

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So, how do they do it?

According to the official, offenders normally had a getaway car on standby which was usually a bakkie so that they could load the stolen lines and cables.

“Some of them use the Tshwane metro electricity department official decals which they put on their vehicles to minimise suspicion when they are scouting.

“How they operate is, two men would scale up a pole while their partner goes to a separate pole to cut the overhead lines.”

The official told Rekord that there was no end in sight to Tshwane’s electricity problems, saying that the metro was under siege by the rampant cable thieves.

“The thieves operate all over, Menlopark, Waterkloof, Mooikloof Ridge… during the early morning hours, between 02:00 and 04:30.

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“They know exactly where to scout and how to scout to steal the line, they usually cut or steal the streetlight conductors and when they do that an area goes dark,” he said.

The official said vulnerable mini-sub stations were also easily targeted.

“Vandalised medium voltage boxes, and metering kiosks next to the roads and in buildings are only targets for the steel doors and the coppers busbars and cables inside these boxes.”

He said the syndicates vandalised and stole the lines and cables in a matter of minutes.

“But when we have to repair and replace, it takes more time and manpower plus the money that goes into procuring some of the parts we have to replace.”

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He said the theft was further exacerbated by the fact that the thieves had a demand through scrap dealers who purchased the stolen overhead lines and cables. By-laws needed to be enforced on the scrap metal dealers.

MMC for utility services Darryl Moss said cable theft was still an issue but there was a reduction in reported cases.

“We have stepped up the TMPD cable theft prevention and detection, they are busy putting rubble over cables in certain vulnerable areas and have a number of city-wide initiatives to counter this scourge, including the installation of high-tech solutions to provide early warning and rapid response, where the possibility of cable theft is detected.”

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