Nearly 50 Tembisa shacks are without their illegally connected electricity after an early-morning raid by the City of Ekurhuleni on Tuesday morning.
These shack dwellers paid R400 a month for the power to a syndicate that erected an illegal bulk connection.
According to Themba Gadebe, spokesperson for the metro, the City of Ekurhuleni had disconnected illegal connections in Vusimuzi informal settlement and Ehlanzeni Section. The illegal connections included a bulk connection that had a makeshift distribution board, supplying power to 48 shacks at a fee of R400 a month paid to the syndicate.
“The City has intensified its fight to stop theft of electricity and related criminality by conducting pre-dawn raids in areas where unaccounted for electricity has been detected,” said Gadebe.
The illegal connections are the main cause of an overload on the electricity supply grid, which results in persistent power supply interruptions. Costly electrical infrastructure components such as transformers, switch-gear and cables are also destroyed due to illegal connections, added Gadebe.
The disconnection operation in Tembisa started at 4am in Ehlanzeni Section and moved to Vusimuzi informal settlement.
The operation was led by the illegal connections task team, comprising officials from Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department, the energy department and the police.
The cables that were confiscated during the operation filled two three-ton trucks.
The City’s MMC for Water, Sanitation and Energy, councillor Tiisetso Nketle, said the operations to disconnect illegal connections would continue to be carried out sporadically across the city to break the back of electricity theft syndicates.
“We want to send a strong warning to the criminals who take advantage of the vulnerable communities by charging them exorbitant fees for stolen electricity,” she said.
Vusimuzi informal settlement is part of the City’s re-blocking programme, which entails realigning shacks to make way for basic municipal services, such as electricity, water and sanitation. Phase I of re-blocking has started and 8 257 households will be re-blocked and later provided with all basic municipal services.
Residents are encouraged to report any illegal connection or suspicion of illegal connection activities through the municipal call centre on 086 054 3000.
The City loses about R800-million a year due to illegal connections.
