GqeberhaFirms raised nearly R1 million to fence a substation.

A 15-hour outage last month cost Isuzu Motors close to R400,000 in diesel for backup generators.

Vandals and thieves have targeted the Swartkops Substation for 3 months, so a business chamber cluster pooled money for perimeter fencing.

“The municipality must fulfil its responsibility,” said Denise van Huyssteen, chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.

The chamber wants a metro-wide plan of fences, guards and cameras for critical electricity sites.

How each outlet framed it
Daily Maverick
frames the substation fence as business self-help after private diesel losses of about R400,000, not a utility fix

Sources: Daily Maverick