Resident interference, at Botlhabela Village in Alexandra, resulted in a blanket disconnection by City Power on Tuesday.

The power cut took place when residents, under the impression that City Power’s team was there to disconnect electricity, interfered with them. They were actually there to carry out a follow-up normalisation process, which started on November 21, following a recent audit that revealed 186 customers in the area were not purchasing electricity, even after the utility had installed 587 smart meters in July.

City Power’s metering services team had to withdraw operations from the area for safety reasons, and, as a result, the transformer supplying power to the area was isolated.

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According to Ward 105 councillor Tefo Raphadu, when the City Power’s team realised that there was no indication that 186 customers were purchasing electricity, they wanted to ascertain whether the smart meters were faulty, or if people had tampered with them. “The whole process was about that, not switching off supply for the whole community.”

Though the utility was concerned about the 186 customers, the hostility met by the team led to a blanket disconnection that affected everyone, including those who say they pay for electricity.

The utility said their teams were disrupted by residents who are opposed to the requirement to purchase electricity. Some residents told Alex News that there were divisions among them, some were not opposed to buying electricity, but others were.

“It can’t be that my neighbour does not buy electricity but they benefit. They use more electricity than me, but I must buy electricity. Why?” resident Thabang Mofera asked.

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Other residents said if the utility wants them to buy electricity, it would have to enforce that requirement starting from 1st Avenue in Alexandra, because they are not the only ones who are not purchasing electricity.

Meanwhile, City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena stressed that once their team resumes work in the area, customers found with illegal connections will face penalties. “They will face a level 3 disconnection, removal of circuit breakers, and a R14 000 fine for a single-phase meter reconnection.”

He further noted that as part of the normalisation process, the utility will be assisting qualifying households to register for free basic electricity (FBE). “Under FBE, eligible indigent households receive 50–120kWh of free electricity per month, depending on household vulnerability.

“Beneficiaries, including pensioners, people with disabilities, unemployed residents, and those in informal settlements, are also exempt from R200 in monthly service and network charges.”

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