Brakpan property owners fined for meter tampering
In addition to paying the fines, the offenders will pay the estimated electricity use for the duration of the illegal connection, meter bypassing or tampering.
City of Ekurhuleni Energy Department officials remove illegal connections from a mini-substation in Brakpan.
Seven Brakpan property owners were each fined R3,613 and had their properties disconnected from the grid on Wednesday.
This after they were found to have tampered with their electricity meter boxes.
Two more were fined the same amount while others were fined R7,227 in the same area on Tuesday for repeat offences.
“The disconnection raids are part of the city’s fight against electricity theft, and have been carried out in areas including estates, flats and residential houses to curb the costs of lost revenue and replacement of damaged electricity infrastructure,” said Nhlanhla Cebekhulu, divisional head of communication and media relations for the City of Ekurhuleni.
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“The illegal connections are prevalent in informal settlements, townships and hostels, while the electricity meter boxes tampering and bypassing are prevalent in the affluent areas,” added Nhlanhla.
In addition to paying the fines, the offenders will pay the estimated electricity use for the duration of the illegal connection, meter bypassing or tampering.
This article was republished from Boksburg Advertiser with permission
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