City attends to almost 9 000 streetlight-related requests between July and August

09 September 2026

The City Energy teams attended to 8 964 streetlight-related service requests between 26 July 2026 and 25 August 2026. The City thanks residents for their patience as streetlights across the metro are repaired.

‘Our teams attended to 28 417 service requests, including 8 964 streetlight-related requests during this period. This compares with 32 795 electricity-related and 9 572 streetlight-related requests the previous month.

‘Area East is in the top spot for the past few months in a row and our efforts will be directed there. Area South, which previously dominated as the top spot, is seeing some improvements while North remains the least hit across service districts. Area East recorded the highest number of streetlight-related requests, with 3 647 attended to, followed by Area South with 2 741 and Area North with 2 506. Area East includes Helderberg, Oostenberg, Bloemhof and Parow.

‘The City takes upkeep and reliability of its electricity infrastructure seriously. We are investing R6 billion through our medium-term capital investment programme to strengthen the electricity distribution network across the city. Residents are urged to help us protect their power by reporting electricity infrastructure vandalism and theft to us and the South African Police Service immediately as they see it happen. To help deter criminal elements, we are hardening our power grid infrastructure, including welding works, protective concrete barriers and caging, among others, but the success of these interventions aren’t guaranteed. We must continue to work together toward catching vandals in the act and to get successful convictions so can win the war on our public electricity infrastructure, protecting our power and securing reliable supply for all,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Alderman Xanthea Limberg.

City interventions

• The City’s Protect Your Power campaign highlights the impact of vandalism, theft, and illegal connections that leave communities in the dark.
• Energy Safety Team and City Law Enforcement continue to be visible in all hotspot areas.
• The City continues to roll out anti-theft and vandalism tech solutions.
• Where possible, we are installing low-street-value equipment in place of copper to discourage theft and vandalism.

We ask the public to report any suspicious behaviour to us so that we can Protect Your Power together. Electrical infrastructure is typically situated in our communities, often abutting private property. Swift reporting will enable the City to act with speed to prevent extensive damage.

Streetlight-related requests attended to per metro area:

Theft and vandalism remains the biggest driver of streetlight requests, and power outages

*Note: The data looks at all streetlight-related service requests closed over a particular period. Data is dynamic and new requests are constantly added to the already logged requests, as well as historic service requests. The data looks only at streetlight-related requests and does not include other energy service requests attended to over the period in review.

Let’s ACT: Protect Your Power against theft, illegal connections and vandalism

 Report suspicious behaviour to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre: 021 480 7700

• Report illegal scrap yards to the ‘Copperheads’: 0800 222 771 (toll free, 24/7, anonymous tip-offs)

SAPS remains the lead authority in crime prevention.

Report to the City

Streetlight and electricity faults:

Call Centre: 0860 103 089

SMS: 31220

WhatsApp: 060 018 1505

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