City Power crackdown on illegal connections met with resistance in Alexandra

A crackdown by City Power on illegal electricity connections in Riverpark, Alexandra, turned into a community protest as residents blocked the entrance of the Alexandra Service Delivery Centre (SDC).

The power utility in the City of Johannesburg was meant to carry out a cut-off operation in the area on Wednesday morning, as illegal electricity connections pose a “risk to infrastructure, public safety and revenue collection.”

Due to the number of illegal connections and growing resistance from customers who blatantly refuse to pay for power, Riverpark is one of the high-risk areas, according to City Power.

Riverpark, Alexandra is a high-risk area

“Most of the residents in that area have bypassed meters or connected directly to the network, leading to infrastructure overload, frequent outages, and heightened risk of fire hazards,” City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said Tuesday.

“Despite ongoing engagement with community leaders, non-compliance and electricity theft remain persistent, leaving us with no option but to disconnect the power supply to safeguard the network and protect lives.”

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However, the operation was postponed as residents staged a protest outside the Alexandra SDC.

Mangena said the group of residents blocked the entrance, meaning City Power officials were unable to respond to queries as they could not drive out of the depot.

“This disruptive behaviour not only endangers our employees but also undermines our broader efforts to deliver services across our areas of supply,” he said in a statement.

We will disconnect the entire area – City Power CEO

The power utility condemned the “unruly, aggressive and unlawful” conduct of the residents.

City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava warned that the utility would disconnect the entire area from the substation if this “unlawful and hostile” behaviour continued.

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“We must be clear: City Power’s contractual relationship is with individual account holders— not a collective group whose legitimacy as customers cannot be ascertained,” the CEO said.

“Each affected customer is urged to visit our Service Delivery Centre to have their issues addressed on an individual basis.”

Mangena added that on Tuesday the City Power Revenue Protection Services, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, also conducted a disconnection operation in the area.

Tuesday’s operation failed

The operation aimed to target 470 households with zero electricity (non-vending) purchases and 367 households with unjustifiably low vending rates, which is an indicator of meter tampering.

City Power only managed to disconnect a handful of customers because their teams were met with violent confrontation.

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Earlier this year, similar disruptions forced the suspension of meter installations.

“As City Power, we will not tolerate any acts of sabotage, intimidation and violence in our efforts to address the electricity theft along with safeguarding our infrastructure and protecting communities from the dangers of illegal connections,” Mashava said.

She added that City Power was open to constructive dialogue with the community.

‘Sabotage, intimidation and violence’

“However, we will not compromise when it comes to illegal connections or meter tampering. It’s either customers willingly admit taking responsibility and pay for the electricity they consume, or we will switch off our electricity indefinitely, and no amount of threats or intimidation will stop us from taking that action,” the CEO said.

The utility has repeatedly warned that illegal connections are dangerous and can lead to deadly consequences.

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“That’s why we will not back down from removing illegal connections not only in Alexandra but across the city,” Mangena said.