11th Avenue residents in Alexandra have been grappling with electricity supply challenges, and according to Ward 108 councillor Deborah Francisco, the root of the problem lies in widespread tampering with newly installed meters.

Francisco explained that while she has been attending community meetings to hear grievances, much of the frustration stems from residents unlawfully bypassing their meters to avoid paying for electricity.

She explained that while she reached out to the power utility and tried to set up a meeting with the community, the utility noted that everyone who is experiencing issues must report to the utility’s offices, but some residents were not pleased with that.

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“People take it as if I am working at City Power, or I have that power to change working arrangements of certain entities, but we do not have that power. We plead with them to assist the community, and they give us an answer that we take to the community. If it is an answer that the community does not want, they insult us.”

According to Francisco, City Power had previously rolled out a normalisation programme, installing new meter boxes in the area.

Residents had agreed to start paying for electricity, while unemployed households were encouraged to apply for the Expanded Social Package to access free basic services. However, many later tampered with the meters to bypass payment.

This illegal practice has led to repeated power outages. “Those who received meters recently decided to bridge them. They lost supply, and when I went to City Power, the utility said customers must pay penalties before reconnection,” Francisco noted.

Last year, City Power adopted stricter policies in response to rampant illegal connections that damage costly infrastructure.

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Before replacing a damaged transformer, the utility’s spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, said they will conduct vending audits to ensure at least 80% of customers are purchasing electricity legitimately.

It was a prerequisite for the restoration of power supply that would see the utility address the issue of illegal connections in Johannesburg.

Francisco confirmed that after a transformer was replaced in the area, new meter boxes were distributed. Yet, tampering continued. “They gave them meter boxes, but this year, the residents decided to tamper with their meter boxes.”

On April 8, she accompanied three residents from 11th Avenue to City Power’s offices. She said the utility agreed to reconnect the supply, but also stated that the non-compliant customers must pay fines.

@caxtonjoburgnorth Councillor Deborah Francisco says City Power will no longer tolerate non-compliance and insists that every customer must pay for the electricity they use. Video: Itumeleng Maloka #caxtonlocalmedia #newsupdate #Communitynews #Localnews #Alex #2026 ♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North

The councillor emphasised that the community’s electricity woes are not due to neglect by the utility, but rather to residents’ own actions. She further noted that until compliance improves, outages will likely persist, and residents will face penalties.

Alex News reached out to City Power on April 10 and will provide further information once a response has been received.

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