City Power, in partnership with other law enforcement agencies, conducted a successful joint operation of removing illegal connections in Pipeline Informal Settlement, Kya Sands.

During the operation, held on January 29, an estimated 15 000kg of three phase aluminium cable, worth more than R2m, was found hidden in one of the shacks. More cables, which were illegally connected, were cut.

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Isaac Mangena, entity spokesperson, said that they suspected the syndicate knew or heard about the operation and removed these cables overnight and hid them in the empty shack. The cable was then removed and confiscated.

“The alleged syndicate operating in the area has illegally tapped into City Power’s infrastructure. They’re connecting residents to different power sources and charging them R1 000 connection fee and R300 monthly fee per household for electricity supply.”

The increase in illegal connections in the area continues to overload the City Power network, resulting in frequent outages. Kya Sands, and surrounding areas, especially the industrial and business areas, are experiencing a high number of power outages due to the destructive nature of these dangerous unlawful connections.

Theft, vandalism, and illegal connections continue to significantly contribute to the loss of revenue for the entity, as well as power supply to paying customers in the surrounding areas.

Mangena confirmed that City Power will be reinforcing the removal of illegal connections programme, by targeting kingpins of these criminal syndicates that are thriving on money they collect from illegal connections.

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“Our revenue protection team and law enforcement agencies will continue monitoring the situation in the area, to ensure that no further illegal connections take place.”

The entity has also taken note of criminal syndicates targeting Aerial Bundle Cables (ABC) found in streetlights. Those cables are then used in informal settlements to illegally connect homes, or taverns, creating a ‘parallel electricity distribution enterprise’, that endangers lives, steals money from the utility and causes untold destruction to the network.

“This system highly undermines the utility’s authority and often involves criminals charging residents a monthly fee for stolen electricity. These criminals seem to have good knowledge of our network. That’s why we are also reinforcing our internal control processes to ensure that internal collaborators are caught and jailed.”

The entity remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of its infrastructure and will continue to work closely with law enforcement agencies to prevent illegal activities.

They have developed and implemented an infrastructure security plan that incorporates working with the various communities, and tactical security operations, intended to drastically reduce and prevent cable theft and vandalism of the electricity infrastructure.

“We encourage and call on community members to play an active role in helping City Power and the police curb illegal connections.”

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