The City Energy teams attended to 10 185 streetlight-related service requests between 26 August 2026 and 25 September 2026. The City thanks residents for their patience as streetlights across the metro are repaired. 

‘The City’s electricity teams continue to work diligently to address the high volume of service requests received, attending to 32 342 requests during August and September, including 10 185 streetlight requests. 

In the previous month, our teams attended to 28 417 service requests, including 8 964 streetlight-related requests during this period. 

‘Area East recorded the highest number of streetlight-related requests, with 3 904 attended to, followed by Area South with 3 114 and Area North with 2 898 between 26 August 2026 and 25 September 2026. Area East includes Helderberg, Oostenberg, Bloemhof and Parow.

Report faulty and vandalised streetlights to the City

‘While our teams do their utmost to attend to streetlight and electricity service requests as quickly as possible, our data indicates that many faulty or vandalised streetlights go unreported. The City regularly monitors electricity infrastructure however, our extensive network of over 245 000 streetlights requires public support to maintain. We urge residents to work with us by reporting faulty streetlights to the City as soon as possible, enabling our teams to identify and address these issues.

‘Vandalism, theft and illegal electricity connections continue to place immense strain on the metro's electricity network and the City's resources. Our data reveals that by June 2026, the City had already spent more than R75 million repairing and replacing infrastructure damaged by criminal activity. These are funds that could have been invested in upgrading existing infrastructure, expanding the electricity network and delivering critical capital projects that benefit our communities.

Protect your Power

‘The City is implementing a range of measures to protect its electricity infrastructure and reduce the impact of vandalism and theft. These interventions include undergrounding cables where feasible, replacing copper conductors with less valuable alternative materials, installing anti-vandalism technology on key infrastructure and working with law enforcement agencies to clamp down on illegal scrapyards. Security resources are also being deployed to monitor identified hotspot areas where possible. The City remains committed to safeguarding critical electricity assets, but lasting success requires the support of residents in reporting vandalism, theft, suspicious activity and illegal connections that undermine service delivery and place communities at risk,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Alderman Xanthea Limberg.

City Interventions

• The City’s Protect Your Power campaign highlights the impact of vandalism, theft, and illegal connections that leave communities in the dark.
• Energy Safety Team and City Law Enforcement continue to be visible in all hotspot areas. 
• The City continues to roll out anti-theft and vandalism tech solutions. 
• Where possible, we are installing low-street-value equipment in place of copper to discourage theft and vandalism.

We ask members of the public to report any suspicious behaviour to us so that we can Protect Your Power together. Electrical infrastructure is typically situated in our communities, often abutting private property. Swift reporting will enable the City to act with speed to prevent extensive damage. 
 
Streetlight-related requests attended to per metro area:

Theft and vandalism remains the biggest driver of streetlight, and power outages

*Note: The data looks at all streetlight-related service requests closed over a particular period. Data is dynamic and new requests are constantly added to the already logged requests, as well as historic service requests. The data looks only at streetlight-related requests and does not include other energy service requests attended to over the period in review.

Let’s ACT: Protect Your Power against theft, illegal connections and vandalism

• Report suspicious behaviour to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre: 021 480 7700
• Report illegal scrap yards to the ‘Copperheads’: 0800 222 771 (toll free, 24/7, anonymous tip-offs) 

SAPS remains the lead authority in crime prevention.

Report to the City

Streetlight and electricity faults:

Call Centre: 0860 103 089

SMS: 31220

WhatsApp: 060 018 1505