Western Cape Eskom calls on public to unite against theft and vandalism

CAPE TOWN - Eskom in the Western Cape is calling on the public to unite against theft and vandalism. 

The call comes as some 70 residents in Belhar are still without power, after criminals vandalised substations in the area.

Since May this year, the power utility notes, 12 substations in Belhar have been damaged, leaving scores of residents without power.  

It says five substations, recently vandalised, still need to be repaired.  

Eskom Western Cape spokesperson, Kyle Cookson, says they’ve spent more than R29 million on repairs due to theft and vandalism in the last financial year (2024/2025).

“Eskom has observed a sharp increase in theft and vandalism across our areas in the Cape Metropole recently, and in response, Eskom took a hands-off approach by adopting a firm stance against repeated vandalism by deprioritising repair or replacement of frequently targeted infrastructure.”  

He says repeated repairs to vandalised substations have been paused until they find a solution to the criminal activity.

“At the end of the day, we want our customers to treat Eskom infrastructure as a shared community asset which is intended to benefit all residents. We invest millions of rand annually in repairing and replacing damaged equipment.”