East substation in La Montagne, Pretoria, catches fire after two cable theft attempts
EIR-1014The East substation, a distribution substation in Albertus Street, La Montagne, in the east of Pretoria, caught fire on a Saturday morning after two separate attempts by suspected cable thieves to tamper with cables at the site within the same night. Residents reported smoke from the substation. A local ward councillor said the fire was allegedly the result of a short circuit caused when the two would-be thieves tampered with the cables. Emergency services attended and brought the fire under control quickly. Two would-be thieves were reportedly arrested within hours of each other, the first after a security guard at a nearby business raised the alarm and a private security company and the police were called, and the second after further suspicious activity was reported at the same substation. A municipal cable theft unit attended to investigate. The extent of fire damage was not known at the time of publication.
Repeated attempts by suspected cable thieves to break into the East substation and tamper with electrical cables, which the ward councillor said caused a short circuit and the subsequent fire. No formal investigation findings were reported.
- Substations in areas exposed to cable theft benefit from enhanced physical security such as fencing, intrusion alarms and monitored access.
- Rapid coordination between site security, private response companies and police can help contain criminal tampering before it escalates to an electrical fault or fire.
- Network owners should treat repeat intrusion attempts at the same asset as a live fire and safety risk and inspect the plant after each attempt, not only after visible damage appears.
Published 2026-09-17. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.