Vandalism to energy infrastructure increase during Eskom’s rolling blackouts: City of Cape Town

The City of Cape Town says the risk of incidents of vandalism to energy infrastructure increase during periods of rolling blackouts.

The city says it has ramped up its efforts to protect infrastructure, removed illegal connections across the metro and continues to monitor all hotspot areas.

Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Beverley van Reenen, says they have deployed additional safety and security teams to help guard critical infrastructure especially during rolling blackouts.

“When the city disconnects illegal connections, criminals often reconnect and vandalise infrastructure further within hours, leaving many homes without electricity for extended periods. Our teams will monitor all hotspots.”

“We have embarked on enhanced initiatives and approximately R40 million has been earmarked to help curb and prevent vandalism of critical energy infrastructure in communities,” adds Van Reenen.

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