Nelson Mandela Bay metro asks council to urgently approve millions for security firm looking after substations

Daily Maverick

18-06-2025

If the company is not paid, the substations are at risk of being left unguarded and, therefore, vulnerable to vandalism, which could cause costly power outages
Nelson Mandela Bay's acting city manager, Ted Pillay, has asked for an urgent decision by council to approve the reallocation of more than R20-million from the current year's budget to pay the security firm guarding some of the city's major substations.
According to council documents, the urgent payment will avoid the security firm's withdrawal, and leaving the city's substations vulnerable to theft and vandalism.
In a metro where cable theft is rife, Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) now owes its security service provider R21-million, according to a report before council. A payment of R7-million was made last week to avoid the substations being abandoned by guards.
The matter is expected to be heard on Wednesday, 18 June, after it was deferred because not all councillors had seen the documents.
Adopt-a-substation
Wayne Hart, from Atlas Security, said that while his organisation is not the security provider owed millions by the municipality, Atlas does guard crucial substations in several parts of the city as part of the Business Chamber's Adopt-a-Substation programme. As part of this programme, businesses fund private security to protect substations against attacks.
Highlighting the importance of security at these substations, Hart said the company protects the large substation at Struandale. Part of its plan involves stationing guards and security vehicles there 24/7.
'This initiative was launched two years ago, and to date we haven't had one single incident. Before our involvement that substation was a target and would often knock half of the industrial areas out,' he said.
He added that his company also monitors alarms at other substations and responds accordingly.
Other security measures employed under the Adopt-a-Substation initiative include perimeter fencing and the installation of hi-tech security cameras monitored around the clock.
Letter to the Presidency
In a letter written to the Presidency, several government departments and Eskom in late 2024, the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, Denise van Huyssteen, requested that the government declare the two substations at Chatty in NMB as national key points.
She also asked that the government consider sending in the army to protect the infrastructure.
In her letter Van Huyssteen highlighted that in 2023 there had been several incidents of cable theft at the municipal substation, and the fence and alarms were tampered with to gain access.
It is estimated that damage to the crucial Chatty substations could lead to power outages of several weeks in NMB.
In the past 12 months, there have been several reported instances of vandalism at substations in the metro leaving residents without power.
Major risk
In its 2025 integrated development report, vandalism is highlighted as one of the major risks facing the city. The report also states that the metro's electricity department will have to be subsidised by municipal rates to remain viable.
Opposition parties have repeatedly argued in council that the electricity department would bankrupt the city if a successful turnaround plan was not implemented.
'We have not seen a turnaround plan yet,' said Werner Senekal, a Democratic Alliance member in the council .
In its application to the National Energy Regulator for tariff increases, the metro said vandalism and cable theft are two of the factors hampering an efficient electricity service in NMB. DM