A Joburg man was burnt to death after he allegedly tried to steal a cable at a substation in Roodepoort, causing power outages in Florida, Hamberg and surrounding areas.
According to City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, the charred remains of the suspected cable thief were found inside the substation on Tuesday morning when employees reported for duty.
“It is still unclear what he tampered with that triggered the electric shock. From preliminary information, it appears as though he broke one of the steel doors and forced entry. The station was severely vandalised and it could require a new switchgear and or Ring Main Units (RMU),” explained Mangena.
Mangena said the substation has since been isolated to allow authorities to carry out their investigations.
Meanwhile, police and inspectors were called on site to conduct their investigation into the incident.
“Operators can only start working towards restoring power supply after the law enforcement agencies conclude their investigation and clear the crime scene,” said Mangena.
However, an assessment of the damage will have to done to determine the next course of action in restoring supply to affected areas.
“As such, City Power not in a position to estimate the time of restoration,” Mangena added.
Furthermore, Mangena said the power utility sympathises with the family of the deceased,but they we were disturbed by the brazen display of disregard for electricity infrastructure.
“Breaking into a live substation and attempting to tamper with the facility just goes to show the extent that people are willing to go to in order to steal and vandalise our infrastructure for personal gain,” he said.
IOL has approached the SA Police Services for comment. This story will be updated once the comment has been obtained.
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