The City of Ekurhuleni says it is aware of the theft of power in the metro and vows its energy department will be deploying its teams on the ground to tackle persistent lawlessness.
This comes after concerned residents complained that illegal power connections perpetually plunge paying customers’ homes into darkness.
“The City is aware of the problem created by the illegal connections. Relevant teams are working on a strategy aimed at addressing the problem in the affected areas, including the illegal connections in Lillianton,” said metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.
The actual date of the disconnection cannot be given for operational reasons.
Lilianton and Reiger Park community leaders told the Advertiser that households located close to the informal settlements where power theft is rife are bearing the brunt of energy thieves, with perpetrators boldly setting up their connections in broad daylight.
This is causing major damage to electricity infrastructure.
Ward 34 councillor Charlie Crawford said his efforts to get the metro to address the power theft has proved unsuccessful.
“The frequent power outages have resulted in huge financial losses to local businesses and disrupted service delivery. These are the situations residents are forced to put up with daily,” bemoaned Crawford.
Lilianton’s Charlene Day had always been a very vocal critic of the metro for what she described as snail’s pace in responding to power theft complaints. She said it is unfortunate that authorities are still struggling to bring this old issue to an end. I
After years of complaining about the energy department’s ‘lacklustre’ response or reaction to illegal electricity connections in Angelo informal settlement, Day subsequently took the matter to the Public Protector’s office where a hearing about the complaint was held.
According to Day, the metro was told to do more to combat electricity theft, a problem that the metro admitted costs ratepayers millions of rand per year.
In a previous statement, the metro explained that stealing electricity comes in many different forms.
On the one hand, you’ve got those consumers who are tampering with their legally connected meters where you’ve potentially got organised crime involved. At the other extreme, you’ve got those who are illegally tapping into the City’s electrical grid on the streets.
The City further acknowledged that the increase in electricity theft, especially in the identified hot spots such as informal settlements, leads to distribution network overloading and damage to the power infrastructure.
The metro thus appealed to the public to refrain from illegal connections and meter tampering.
Also Read: Illegal connections leave many communities in the dark
