Barely three months into the year, the City of Cape Town has already spent more than R44.5m repairing damage caused by theft and vandalism of electrical infrastructure, a costly cycle officials warn is spiralling out of control.
In the previous financial year alone, the city spent R76.3m on repairing and replacing damaged electricity infrastructure. Yet, officials say, much of what is fixed is vandalised again within days.
On the ground, the crisis is stark, particularly in informal settlements where illegal electricity connections, commonly known as izinyoka, are widespread.
Ask residents how much they spend on electricity, and the answers may surprise you. Despite unsafe connections, many households still pay for access through informal networks.
In some areas, live electrical cables lie exposed on the ground, often in sewage-contaminated environments where children play, creating a deadly mix of risk and neglect.
The scale of the problem is reflected in service demand. Between January 25 and February 25 this year, city energy teams attended to 8,881 streetlight-related requests, a sharp increase from 6,666 cases recorded between December 25 and January 25.
Socio-economic drivers
A 2022 study titled Economic conditions that lead to illegal electricity connections at Quarry Road Informal Settlement in South Africa sheds light on the deeper socio-economic drivers behind the growing crisis.
While illegal electricity connections are classified as a criminal and punishable offence, the study found that they are often rooted in systemic challenges such as poverty, unemployment, and in some cases, substance abuse.
Unemployment, in particular, emerged as a key driver.
As joblessness rises, many households are forced to seek alternative means to survive, including illegal access to electricity. For some residents, illegal connections are not a choice but a last resort.
Illegal electricity connections have become an accepted part of daily life.
— Economic conditions that lead to illegal electricity connections at Quarry Road Informal Settlement in SA study
The study identifies two distinct groups involved in illegal connections:
- Survival users — households that rely on illegally connected electricity because they cannot afford formal access.
- Informal providers — individuals who install illegal connections for others in exchange for payment, effectively turning it into a source of income.
The research found that despite widespread awareness of the dangers, including electrocution, fires and infrastructure damage, residents continue to connect illegally due to a lack of viable alternatives.
In many cases, the practice has become normalised.
“Illegal electricity connections have become an accepted part of daily life,” the study found, pointing to limited municipal intervention and a growing sense among residents that there are few other options.
The findings underscore a critical tension at the heart of the issue: while cities grapple with the financial and infrastructural damage caused by illegal connections, many communities view them as essential for survival.
Illegal connections are driving outages
The city says illegal connections, along with theft and vandalism, are the leading causes of electricity faults and outages.
Mayoral committee member for energy, Alderman Xanthea Limberg, said the impact is both visible and costly.
“The targeting of streetlight infrastructure is particularly concerning, as these are often the first visible signs of the impact of this scourge in our communities,” she said.
Areas such as Helderberg and Parow are among those recording the highest number of service requests.
“In the current financial year, R75.5m has been budgeted for the upgrade and expansion of streetlights across the metro. Sadly, more than half of that has already been spent on replacing damaged infrastructure due to theft, illegal connections and vandalism,” Limberg said.
This money could have been used to maintain existing infrastructure and fund other capital projects. It is simply not sustainable.
— Xanthea Limberg, MMC for energy
She warned that the continued losses are diverting funds away from much-needed development.
“This money could have been used to maintain existing infrastructure and fund other capital projects. It is simply not sustainable.”
Cycle of damage and repair
City officials say the pattern has become predictable: infrastructure is repaired or upgraded, only to be vandalised or illegally tapped into again shortly afterwards.
To counter this, the city has rolled out several anti-vandalism measures, including:
- installing underground cabling where possible;
- replacing copper cables with less valuable materials;
- fitting anti-theft technology to infrastructure; and
- cracking down on illegal scrapyards.
City steps up interventions
Security has also been deployed to monitor hotspot areas, while enforcement teams have increased visibility in high-risk communities.
The city recently launched its Protect Your Power campaign, described as a first-of-its-kind awareness drive, aimed at highlighting the impact of vandalism, theft and illegal connections on communities.
Additional interventions include:
- dedicated energy safety teams operating in hotspot areas;
- expanded use of anti-theft and anti-vandalism technologies; and
- installation of low street-value materials to deter theft.
Despite these efforts, officials acknowledge that without community cooperation, the problem will persist.
A growing safety and governance crisis
Beyond the financial toll, the crisis is increasingly being viewed as both a safety hazard and a governance challenge.
Illegal connections not only destabilise the grid but also expose residents, particularly children, to life-threatening conditions.
For the city, the message is clear: unless theft, vandalism and illegal connections are brought under control, millions of rand will continue to be lost, and the most vulnerable communities will continue to pay the highest price.
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