City Power has confirmed the death of one of its metering technicians in Crown Mines on May 13, following an incident linked to an illegal electricity connection.

The technician was fatally injured at 17:25 while walking toward a transformer switching station on Planet Avenue when his foot came into contact with an illegally connected aerial bundled conductor cable.

The cable sparked, killing him on site and causing an unplanned power interruption in the area.

Initial reports indicate the incident occurred during routine work, and investigations are underway.

All technical operations at the site have been suspended and will only resume once the Department of Labour declares the area safe.

The tragedy highlights the dangers of illegal connections, which damage infrastructure, cause repeated outages, and put residents, children, and employees at risk.

The utility condemned the practice and urged residents to refrain from tampering with the network.

“This is a stark reminder that illegal electricity connections are not a victimless crime,” said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

“When people tamper with our network, they are not only compromising the grid and delaying power restoration, but they are also putting lives at risk, including those of our own employees who work to restore electricity. We extend our deepest condolences to the family, colleagues, and loved ones of our deceased colleague.”

The utility appealed to communities to help fight illegal connections by reporting suspicious activity.

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Residents can contact City Power Security Risk Management on 011 490 7900 or the toll-free number 0800 116 166.

Tips can also be sent via WhatsApp to 083 579 4497, and all reports will be treated with strict confidentiality.

LISTEN to the City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena:

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