Government spends R146m for soldiers to protect Eskom power stations

President Cyril Ramaphosa has deployed 880 soldiers to protect Eskom power stations for six months at a cost of more than R146m. 

This was confirmed by the presidency at the weekend, saying the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members would work with police to safeguard power stations hit by cable theft.

“Members of the SANDF will assist police to protect Eskom power stations around the country where sabotage, theft and other crimes may threaten the functioning of stations and supply of electricity,” the Presidency said. 

It said the soldiers would work in the stations from April 17 to October 17 at a cost of R146.7m.  

“The president has informed speaker of the National Assembly Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula  and chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Amos Masondo in writing of the deployment of SANDF personnel for service in co-operation with police,” it said. 

This is not the first time soldiers have been tasked with protecting stations.

In March the presidency announced 2,700 military members were appointed for a month and the number was then was decreased by 1,820. 

Eskom’s head of security Karen Pillay told BusinessDay last week these initiatives have not deterred brazen criminals. 

Pillay said there were 35 incidents reported in March.  

“These incidents include cable theft, common theft, theft of diesel and malicious damage to property with an intent to steal. Some incidents recorded also include those that occurred outside the power stations, such as theft of laptops from employees [during their commute to and from work],” Pillay said. 

Criminals have been targeting substation for years. City Power spent R380m from last December until February to repair vandalised electricity infrastructure.

Speaking to TimesLIVE, City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said 444 cases of cable theft were reported from December until February, an average of about five cases a day.

January accounted for the highest number of cable thefts with 202 reported cases. 

Roodepoort, Lenasia, Johannesburg inner-city, Alexandra, Hursthill and Randburg have been hit most by cable theft. 

“In the Roodepoort area we had three major substations badly vandalised and copper cables stolen during load-shedding. The blanket of darkness that envelopes an area during load-shedding provides good cover for criminals. They cannot be easily detected by security personnel, law enforcement agencies or community patrollers,” Mangena said. 

TimesLIVE