Copper theft

Organised crime and substandard imports are deepening South Africa’ s copper cable theft crisis, risking power outages and economic damage.

Copper cable theft syndicates are causing severe damage to the country’ s infrastructure, costing the economy an estimated R7 billion annually in direct losses. These thefts are also plunging households, businesses, and factories into darkness through widespread power outages, as detailed in a 2025 Economic Bulletin report by the National Treasury.

Eskom has reported a 20 % increase in transformer failures due to vandalism and illegal connections in the first nine months of 2025, with 771 incidents, highlighting that the issue goes beyond stolen copper. It’ s a deliberate attack on the nation ' s energy security and its economic recovery.

24 sabusinessintegrator. co. za