Some customers connected to the electricity distribution network in Nova Dalmatinska Street—five buildings and the CRBS office—have been without power since last night due to the deliberate destruction of underground power cables by one of the residents of that street.
The unfortunate incident occurred last night at around 9:30 p.m. CEDIS crews responded to a fault report to repair the network, but resident Boljević has not allowed them to do so up to this point. CEDIS crews are waiting for the competent authorities, whose assistance will enable the network to be restored to proper working order.
This is the second time in three days that the same person has set fire to cables at that location, leaving residents of part of Nova Dalmatinska Street without electricity. On Sunday, 14 May, at around 10:15 a.m., Boljević dug a trench to reach the underground cables and set fire to three low-voltage cables and two 10-kilovolt cables. Residents of the buildings and the CRBS office were left without power. CEDIS disconnected the cables from the network, and crews carried out repairs to restore the electricity supply to customers. By setting fire to the cables, Boljević caused an emergency situation that took more than five hours to resolve.
Last night, the same thing happened again, following the same pattern. When CEDIS crews responded to another fault report, they found a newly dug trench and the newly repaired cables set on fire. The case was reported to the police and the energy inspector. As Boljević is still not allowing our crews to replace the cables and restore the network to proper working order, we are waiting for the competent authorities to respond so that the work can be completed during the day.
Although we are not aware of the reasons prompting Boljević to engage in activities that endanger not only his own safety but also that of residents in buildings supplied via this network, such actions are contrary to the laws of our country. We have unofficially learned that, according to Boljević, the reason for these actions is unresolved property rights issues. CEDIS holds documentation covering all permits issued in connection with the construction of this network. The Vranici 5 transformer station and its associated network are not owned by CEDIS but by the building developer. However, since they are part of the Capital City’s power system, we have an obligation to customers to supply them with electricity and restore the network to proper working order.
We sincerely regret that this unfortunate situation has occurred through no fault of our own, and we will do everything within our remit to restore electricity to customers as soon as possible.
