Residents across several Buffalo City neighbourhoods are reaching breaking point after weeks of cable-theft-related outages left homes, schools, businesses and feeding schemes without electricity.
Parkside, Parkridge, Pefferville and CC Lloyd have been among the hardest-hit areas, with some residents saying they have gone nearly three weeks without stable power as repeated repair efforts are followed by further theft and vandalism.
Beacon Bay has also recently been targeted.
Residents say the prolonged outages have disrupted daily life, crippled businesses and left vulnerable families struggling.
“There are businesses that have not been operating because of the outages,” resident Ivor Aiken said.
“Soup kitchens also cannot operate because there is no electricity.
“We understand that cable theft is a problem affecting many areas, but people cannot continue living like this.
“Families are suffering and there seems to be no end to the problem.”
Aiken said residents were demanding urgent intervention and long-term solutions from local authorities.
“People are losing food because fridges and freezers cannot work. Businesses cannot operate and children cannot study at night.
“Three weeks without electricity is simply unacceptable,” he said.
Nathan Miles said schools in the affected communities had already experienced repeated disruptions.
“The first outage lasted for about three days before electricity was restored, but then the power went off again this morning,” Miles said.
“Schools like John Bisseker High School, Parkside Primary School and Pefferville Primary School are all affected.
“Administration work is interrupted and learners are struggling.”
Parkside Butchery, a family-owned business which has been a pillar in the community for decades, said the frequent outages had added financial pressure on already battling business.
Veronique Jordaan, whose father took over the butchery in 1976 and which she and her brother, Selwyn, have been running since 1996, said they had spent about R2,600 on diesel to run the generator for the last two weeks.
“We had to run the generator for four days last week. As a result of it constantly running, the fan packed up. It cost me R6,100 to fix.
“Today [Wednesday], I had to call a company to service the generator because it kept going on and off. The company said it would cost R4,500.”
Jordaan said they had six freezers, one big walk-in freezer and another fridge for storing fresh lamb.
She said she was concerned the meat would go off if electricity was not restored.
By 7pm on Wednesday, the electricity had been off for about 34 hours.
“The 15th [of May] was a busy day for us, but because of the unreliable electricity supply, I did not have enough stock and lost out on much-needed sales.”
People solely rely on the one meal we make for them, so it is heartbreaking seeing their faces filled with disappointment
Community feeding schemes and soup kitchens have also battled to continue operating during the outages.
Non-profit organisation owner Doretta Prins described the emotional toll of turning away hungry residents because meals could not be prepared properly.
“People solely rely on the one meal we make for them, so it is heartbreaking seeing their faces filled with disappointment,” Prins said.
She said organisations were doing everything possible to continue operating, but repeated outages were making it increasingly difficult.
One Parkside resident said the area had had frequent power outages over the last three weeks, some lasting more than 24 hours.
“It’s frustrating because there is absolutely no communication from the city on what the issue is, if the issue is being attended to and how long outages are likely to last,” she said.
“We are in the dark — literally and figuratively.”
The growing crisis has also highlighted broader concerns around cable theft across Buffalo City Metro.
Earlier this week, Beacon Bay residents posted on community WhatsApp groups witnessing men attempting to climb streetlights, supposedly to steal electrical wire.
Cable theft was reported in several parts of the suburb.
Beacon Bay Ratepayers’ Association chair Scott Roebert said cable theft was becoming increasingly common.
“We are seeing weekly reports on this issue,” Roebert said.
“We urge all residents to open cases at their local police stations so we can start building proper evidence trails.
“Many incidents happen during the early hours of the morning, and we urge the SAPS to increase patrols and work together with security companies and community policing forums.”
Red Alert Security’s Brett Harvey said cable theft had escalated dramatically across the metro.
“We respond to thefts and infrastructure damage every day. Every area is suffering,” Harvey said.
He said underground and overhead electricity cables were the primary targets, but criminals were also stealing cable from traffic lights, streetlights and other infrastructure.
“Criminals are becoming increasingly brazen. They target traffic lights, robot systems, streetlamps and municipal installations because copper and electrical components can easily be sold,” Harvey said.
He said security officers conducted constant patrols while advanced monitoring systems and AI-assisted camera infrastructure was being used to detect suspicious activity.
Buffalo City municipal spokesperson Bongani Fuzile acknowledged recent cable theft incidents across several suburbs, saying the metro was intensifying monitoring and crime prevention operations.
He said cable theft at pump stations had also contributed to water outages in some areas.
Fuzile maintained that incidents in Beacon Bay were isolated cases rather than widespread outages.
“The area is being actively monitored, as are all other areas across the metro,” he said.
He confirmed that Beacon Bay had been added to the municipality’s list of cable-theft hotspots and said suspicious vehicles linked to criminal activity had already been flagged.
“The municipality is working closely with private security companies operating in the area to curb criminal activity.
“Suspicious vehicles have been identified and added to security databases, with one vehicle already flagged,” he said.
Fuzile said several arrests linked to cable theft and tampering with municipal infrastructure had already been made across the metro.
A 32-year-old offender had recently been sentenced to 10 years’ direct imprisonment for tampering with BCM underground cables.
Fuzile said the metro regularly conducted scrapyard raids and inspections.
During a March operation, law enforcement officers allegedly intercepted suspects digging up cabling and recovered a vehicle linked to the crime.
“At a Tyutyu scrapyard, approximately 7kg of copper was confiscated and a case of possession of property suspected to be stolen was opened,” he said.
In a separate incident on Wednesday morning, an 18-year-old suspect was arrested in Osmond Road after allegedly being found digging up cables.
“The suspect is expected to face charges of intentional tampering with government infrastructure,” Fuzile said.
He said the metro, police and private security stakeholders had established cable theft task teams to improve response times and protect critical infrastructure.
DA PR councillor Tessa Botha said BCM needed stricter oversight of scrapyards operating within residential communities.
“The ongoing cable theft has been a problem for many years,” Botha said.
“The metro needs to close down scrapyard businesses and move them into industrial areas.”
Botha also claimed that a substation had recently been vandalised while technicians were attempting repairs.
“After the technicians left, the culprits attempted to steal the cables, but we reported the matter to law enforcement,” she said.
Daily Dispatch
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