City Power pledges crackdown on cable thieves after repeated Honeydew outages

City Power has promised a concerted push against criminals stealing electricity infrastructure in Honeydew after recurring outages affected several suburbs, the utility said at a public meeting on Thursday.

Acting CEO addresses residents

The commitment came during an Electricity Imbizo held at Ruimsig Stadium, where Acting CEO Charles Tlouane spoke to local residents. He acknowledged the frustration caused by repeated power cuts in Honeydew, Amarosa, Ruimsig and Weltevredenpark.

Tlouane said City Power would not let paying customers continue to suffer during repair and strengthening work:

“We can’t allow paying customers to suffer even while the local network is being repaired and strengthened.”

Theft and vandalism driving outages

City Power told the meeting that theft and vandalism account for a significant share of outages, with thieves targeting copper components and leaving households without supply. Tlouane said:

“20% of our outages here are as a result of theft and vandalism.”

City Power reported that about 94% of the area’s 7,954 customers across Wards 83, 85 and 97 were purchasing electricity lawfully. The utility said it valued that level of lawful payment by residents.

Measures to deter thieves and upgrade capacity

In a statement issued on behalf of the utility, City Power’s public relations general manager Isaac Mangena confirmed that replacing copper cables with aluminium formed part of efforts to deter criminals in the greater Roodepoort area.

Johannesburg executive mayor Dada Morero said the city had secured around R700 million in extra capital funding to strengthen electricity infrastructure, adding to an existing R1.7 billion budget. Morero said:

“We are at the point of spending, and we are now ready to address the capacity issue that the residents have raised.”

Morero also pointed to the need to address ageing infrastructure and outdated substation technology in Roodepoort, alongside streetlight and traffic light repairs.

Substation project to boost bulk capacity

City Power said the Lutz Substation project was 85% complete and was expected to switch on in early 2027. The utility said the project would boost bulk capacity across the region.

Community role and next steps

City Power called on communities to help protect infrastructure while it pursued offenders and carried out repairs and upgrades. The utility reiterated that infrastructure replacement and the Lutz Substation were key parts of its response to the outages.