Vandalism crisis: uMhlathuze Municipality’s electricity substations under attack

Damage at the Grantham Substation raises concerns over infrastructure security in uMhlathuze. The uMhlathuze Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal has recently been grappling with a spate of vandalism incidents targeting its crucialelectricity substations. In recent weeks, both the Grantham Substation in Empangeni and the Aquila Substation, which supplies the Arboretum area, have been hit, with the latest incidents causing significant power disruptions.

On Wednesday, the municipality reported more vandalism at the Grantham Substation in Empangeni. “All control circuit wiring and protection wiring have been vandalised. This means a single fault will trip upstream, affecting all of the Empangeni residents,” the municipality said.

Earlier, the municipality informed its residents that the Aquila Substation, which supplies electricity to customers in Arboretum, has experienced a second incident of vandalism within the past two weeks. “The previous incident, which occurred last week, did not affect customers, as only the protection installation was targeted. However, the most recent act of vandalism has resulted in a power trip, affecting the electricity supply to the area,” the municipality said.