The Northern Electricity Distributor (NORED) has recorded 14 cases of copper cable theft in the Ohangwena Region.

The electricity distributor says the illegal activity is not only costly, but it is also depriving communities of a reliable electricity supply.

NORED held a public consultative awareness campaign at Eenhana.

Copper cable theft continues to pose a serious challenge to electricity supply in parts of the Ohangwena Region.

Oshikango, Ohangwena, Helao Nafidi, Eenhana and Onakamwandi are the hotspots.

Nored says the problem of cable theft reached over 600 cases in their areas of operations.

Simon Lukas, the spokesperson for NORED, says that the company is currently battling the social evil of copper cable theft. "As a company, we decided to engage with our stakeholders on this social evil. How does copper cable theft affect the company, and secondly, how does it impact the community, and what are the effective strategies and measures we should collectively put together to address this challenge?"

The distributor says stealing electrical cables affects households, businesses and essential services.

During a public consultation, stakeholders discussed ways to prevent cable theft and protect critical electricity infrastructure.

NORED is urging members of the public to report suspicious activities around electricity infrastructure and to refrain from buying or selling stolen cables.