Thieves take cables from Grafton substation a year after costly damage

Paul Baragwanath, director of the Kāhui St David’s charitable trust, said thieves had again targeted the Madeira Lane substation about 8am today.

CCTV footage from the 2025 incident shows a man forcing open the substation door before leaving with copper cables. Photo / Kāhui St David’s

“The earthing cables, value of $300 or so for scrap, have been stolen. Again,” he said.

Baragwanath said the incident last year caused hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to nearby apartments and Kāhui St David’s.

Cables were stolen from a distribution transformer on Madeira Lane, Grafton, last year, leaving parts of the area without power. Photo / Kāhui St David’s

A resident at Neo Apartments said he immediately recognised what was happening because he had experienced the previous incident.

“I was chatting to some friends online and that’s when I noticed the power was surging,” the resident said.

“The oven just went absolutely berserk with the beeping and the error codes as the lights were dimming and flickering.

“It caused a lot of damage to the electrical systems when power was fluctuating quite a lot.”

He said many residents had been forced to replace electronics on their hot water cylinders after the previous incident.

Baragwanath accused Vector of failing to adequately secure critical infrastructure despite the earlier theft.

“Vector has failed in its duties to protect this vital infrastructure,” he said.

“It takes a thief just moments to get in, and there is no alarm, no monitoring, no camera.”

Kāhui St David’s, a charitable trust affected by both incidents, says it is still recovering from electrical damage caused by the previous theft. Photo / Kāhui St David’s

Baragwanath said he had contacted Vector after the previous incident, questioning why security measures had not been improved.

The Kāhui St David’s charitable trust was still recovering from the previous incident, he said.

“We still have not been able to fix the damage caused to our electrical systems from last time. Parts have to be made overseas.

“Our house and stage lighting are still partially out.”

Baragwanath said the trust continued to spend significant time dealing with repairs, insurance claims and security concerns.

“Insurance does not cover our time managing the massive electrical repairs, paperwork and security.”

Vector said it will investigate and work with police to determine how thieves gained access to the building.

The company urged the public not to confront anyone they suspected of stealing copper or interfering with electrical equipment, and instead report suspicious activity to police via 111 or 105.