GAUTENG. – A man died on Thursday morning (22 October) after allegedly attempting to steal cables from a City Power electricity facility in Booysens Reserve. The man's body was found at approximately 09:20 in a medium-voltage electricity chamber near the corner of Mentz Street and Booysens Reserve, after members of the public reported him as unconscious. A cable-cutting tool was found with him.
Isaac Mangena, a spokesperson for City Power, says the chamber's main entrance door was forced open and the locking mechanism was damaged. Preliminary investigations also revealed signs of tampering with electrical equipment, a cut neutral conductor, damaged lighting and disturbed cables. City Power temporarily switched off the electricity supply to nine distribution centres in the area while police investigated the scene. Power was later restored on Thursday afternoon after police released the scene for repair work.
The incident follows several similar cases in Johannesburg. In September, an alleged cable thief was seriously burnt while attempting to steal cables from underground tunnels near the Central substation. According to City Power, he remained in a critical condition in hospital. On 26 February, another suspect was fatally electrocuted during an alleged attempt to cut a medium-voltage cable at the Manufacta substation in Roodepoort. On 1 May, a suspect was found in a mini power station in Fleurhof while allegedly attempting to damage electrical infrastructure. He was safely removed and taken into custody.
City Power warns that tampering with substations, electricity chambers and underground cable networks is life-threatening. Residents are urged to report suspected activities, unauthorised access or damaged access points to City Power's security control room at 011 490 7900, 011 490 7911 or 011 490 7553, or via WhatsApp at 083 579 4497.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
