City’s ongoing plague: R44,5m on theft and vandalism of electrical infrastructure

15 March 2026

The City continues to be plagued by ongoing electrical infrastructure theft and vandalism. More than R44,5 million has already been spent this financial year. The City has implemented a number of interventions and we call on residents to work with us to put an end to this egregious criminality.

‘Theft, illegal connections and vandalism of electrical infrastructure is a safety risk to residents and continues to plague Cape Town neighbourhoods. The Energy Directorate has already spent more than R44,5 m as at January 2026, just over halfway through this current financial year. This is money that could have been spent elsewhere to maintain existing infrastructure and on other capital projects, among others. It is just not sustainable. Various anti-vandalism projects continue to be rolled out, including undergrounding of cabling where possible, replacing copper cables with less valuable materials, fitting anti-vandalism technology to some of the infrastructure and clamping down on illegal scrapyards.

‘The City has spent approximately R76,3 million in the past financial year on electricity infrastructure maintenance and replacement. Unfortunately, often as soon as infrastructure has been fixed or replaced, it is vandalised again. The City has deployed security to monitor hotspot areas where possible, replacing copper with alternative material which has a lower street value and we are piloting innovative infrastructure protection tech solutions. We call on residents to fight the scourge alongside our teams by being our neighbourhood partners, keeping eyes and ears open against criminality and by reporting all suspicious behaviour near electricity infrastructure to the City and SAPS.

‘City Electricity teams are actively working in various areas across the metro as part of our year-round public lighting programme. The City maintains a network of more than 245 000 streetlights through significant investment – including a R75,5 million streetlight capital budget for the 2025/26 financial year,' said Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Alderman Xanthea Limberg.

The City has also launched Protect Your Power, a first of a kind campaign which highlights the massive impact of vandalism, theft and illegal connections which leave our communities, neighbourhoods, and roadways in the dark. The City is calling on all residents to help us Protect Your Power and build safer, brighter communities by reporting any suspicious activity anonymously to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre (PECC). The SAPS remains the lead authority in crime prevention.

Let’s ACT: Protect Your Power

Report suspicious behaviour to the City’s PECC: 021 480 7700

Report illegal scrap yards to the ‘Copperheads’: 0800 222 771 (toll free, 24/7, anonymous tip-offs)

Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office