Central SA
Emfuleni residents urged to report vandalism after restoration of electricity─── ZENANDE MPAME 16:37 Mon, 16 Mar 2026
Emfuleni municipality urges residents to report vandalism-induced outages to the municipality after the restoration of electricity to some areas.
Electricity was restored to most areas on Saturday (14/3) after three weeks of darkness. Teams remain on the ground to identify faults and restore electricity where cables have been stolen or electrical distribution boxes damaged.
The fire at the substation broke out on Sunday, 22 February, and left countless residents without electricity. The fire was allegedly caused by overloading and/or technical faults. The 30 mVa transformer and cables were damaged beyond repair by the fire.
“The municipality continues to work on reported cases, as well as areas identified by our electricians who are dispatched to assist communities affected,” said Emfuleni spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni.
“It is the responsibility of both communities and the municipality to work together to protect this infrastructure. The safety of public infrastructure, which includes cables, streetlights, and other facilities, is also the responsibility of the community.
“Communities must assist municipalities rather than simply pointing fingers. The people who steal, buy, and sell stolen materials often come from within our own communities.”
“Therefore, we cannot expect the municipality alone to ensure the safety of public infrastructure. As we have already said, we apologise for the extended time it took to restore electricity. But the wait was worth it,” he said.
The areas that still don’t have electricity are areas where critical infrastructure, such as cables, has been stolen or where electrical distribution boxes, commonly known as green boxes, have been vandalised.
The municipality said it is working to attend to the isolated outages affecting consumers at CW areas, Vaal Mall, Stephanopark, Bonanne, parts of NW7, and Bophelong.
“I am aware that there are still areas that are off, and that is due to the fact that there were boxes that were vandalised and substations that need repair work,” said FF Plus Cllr Gerda Senekal.
“There is also a cable fault that is running at the back of Town substation towards the roads department, and that is our 11kV cable, but there are people already busy with Emfuleni testing that cable and looking for the fault.”
As soon as there is a new update, we will put it through, she said.
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