City Power logs 652 cable theft incidents in seven months as Joburg's grid bleeds copper

Johannesburg utility City Power recorded 652 cable theft incidents between July 2025 and January 2026, up from 481 incidents in the six months from January to June 2025, Daily Maverick reported.

62 suspects were arrested for cable theft during the second quarter of City Power's 2025/26 financial year. The utility must protect more than 18,000 km of underground cable running beneath Johannesburg.

About 20% of Johannesburg's power outages are linked to theft and vandalism, while roughly 60% stem from ageing infrastructure.

A former cable thief told the paper that access to underground cable networks is bought with "hard cash", describing organised, high-stakes syndicate operations. A scrapyard owner interviewed, James Nukeri, said his yard refuses cables because stolen cables can be traced back to buyers.

Johannesburg Property Owners and Management Association's Angela Rivers said residents, tenants and businesses bear the immediate cost through outages, safety risks and business disruption. "The greatest cost is borne by communities left without electricity for extended periods while repairs are undertaken," said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

Why it matters locally: every cable theft spike drives factory and estate demand for backup power protection, buried-asset monitoring, CCTV and armed response - core revenue lines for South African security firms.

Source: Daily Maverick, 6 March 2026 - dailymaverick.co.za