Heartherly Substation vandalism leaves parts of Pretoria East in the dark
Residents in several suburbs of Pretoria East woke up without electricity on Monday morning.
The City of Tshwane said the outages were caused by theft and vandalism at Heatherley Substation in the early hours of Monday morning.
Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said during the two hours of load shedding, about 20 individuals stormed the substation and held the security personnel at gunpoint.
"At least nine medium voltage cables were stolen, and the substation vandalised, and that resulted in a fire outbreak. Following the outburst of flame at the substation, the emergency services department was activated to extinguish the fire."
Affected areas include Savanah Estate, Greecreek, The Blydes, Nellmapius Extension 3,67,8 and 22 and Pienaarspoort.
"A team of technicians is onsite investigating the extent of the damage with the view of effecting the necessary repairs,” said Mashigo.
"The City of Tshwane condemns these acts of vandalism of its infrastructure and urges members of the community to report any suspicious activities to the Tshwane Metro Police Department 24-hour line on 012 358 7095/6 or cable theft hotline on 080 011 2722."
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