Residents of Kya Sands said they were trapped in a cycle of suffering as City Power intensifies operations to cut off illegal connections in the informal settlement.
While the utility, supported by police and JMPD, said the disconnections were necessary to protect infrastructure and prevent blackouts in surrounding areas, many residents argued they have been left with no choice but to rely on an unlawful supply.
Read more: City Power targets illegal Kya Sands connections
Community member Rose Mphane said residents were desperate for a permanent solution.“We don’t have electricity and we are suffering. We need City Power to come help us. I am happy they are here to remove all of this, but we are in desperate need of proper electricity,” she added.
Mphane claimed that households have been paying R1 500 to connect and R400 every month to criminal syndicates running underground power networks. “This money goes to individuals and not an entity that will constantly supply us. We have been dealing with this since 2016 or 2017.”
Other residents expressed relief that illegal wires were being cleared, pointing out damage to trees and safety hazards caused by the makeshift connections.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena acknowledged the community’s frustrations but warned that the illegal network was unsustainable and dangerous. “There are people who have opened their own mini City Power here.
“They charge connection fees and monthly payments, but it’s theft. It has also caused outages in formal areas and blown up mini substations,” he said.
Also read: City Power fixes mini-substation, restoring power to residents of Bloubosrand
Mangena added that the utility had seized truckloads of cables used in the scheme but believed much of the infrastructure, including transformers, was hidden. He confirmed that criminal syndicates, and not just ordinary residents, were driving the problem.
Mangena said the utility would continue with unannounced operations until the illegal network in Kya Sands was fully dismantled.
Despite the crackdown, Mangena admitted electrification was the only long-term solution. “It will work in our favour if we can electrify this area. But the ground is dolomitic, and the area was originally meant as a dumping site, which makes it difficult.”
For now, residents remain caught between expensive illegal payments and the uncertainty of when or if they will receive a formal electricity supply.
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