11th Avenue’s power woes stem from residents’ own actions, says councillor
Ward 108 councillor Deborah Francisco says repeated power cuts in Alexandra’s 11th Avenue are the result of residents tampering with newly installed meters, not City Power’s failure to act.
Electricity supply problems on Alexandra’s 11th Avenue have left households frustrated.
But councillor Deborah Francisco said the outages are self-inflicted. She claimed that residents are undermining City Power’s work by tampering with meters to avoid paying for electricity. “People take it as if I am working at City Power, or I have the power to change the 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.”
Read more: Ward 108 residents express reservations with level of service from Alex SAPS
City Power previously introduced a normalisation programme, installing new meter boxes and encouraging unemployed households to apply for the expanded social package for free basic services. Residents initially agreed to comply, but many later bypassed the meters. “Those who received meters recently decided to bypass them. They lost supply, and when I went to City Power, the utility said customers must pay penalties before reconnection.”
The utility has since tightened its policies. Last year, spokesperson Isaac Mangena explained that before replacing a damaged transformer, vending audits would be conducted to ensure that at least 80% of customers were buying electricity legitimately. Compliance became a prerequisite for restoring supply. Even after a transformer was replaced and new meter boxes distributed, tampering persisted.
Also read: Francisco accuses DA of overstepping in Ward 108 fire aid
Recently, Francisco accompanied three residents to City Power’s offices, where the utility agreed to reconnect their power supply, but insisted that non-compliant customers must pay fines.
For Francisco, the conclusion is clear: Alexandra’s electricity woes are not caused by neglect from City Power, but by residents undermining the system. Until compliance improves, she warns outages will continue, and penalties will remain in place.
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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