Procedures community needs to follow when reporting stolen items
Residents need to open a case of theft at the police station before reporting stolen meters or cables.
Residents need to follow certain procedures when reporting stolen house cables, meters or circuit breakers.
Residents have not been sure of the procedures they need to follow when reporting stolen house cables, meters, circuit breakers and vandalism of meter boxes.
Some residents, like Samuel Malahla, was under the impression customer care agents do not want to help.
“I did not understand the procedures of reporting cable theft. I always argued with the agents and thought the idea of opening a case before reporting the matter to them was a waste of time.”
The Tshwane metro has taken the time to explain the procedures so residents can also get a quick response from them.
“Residents must report to police about stolen items and they would be provided with a case number which they, in turn, will give us when they call our customer care centre,” said Tshwane metro spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo.
He said to report stolen cables, residents should phone customer care on 012-358-9999 and select the option for electricity and provide the case number. For stolen meters, residents should report it to the nearest electrical depot responsible in the area, where they will also need to provide a case number.
“In most cases, circuit breakers can be removed due to credit control action or if stolen, residents should contact customer care. However, if the circuit breaker is stolen, they should select the electricity option when calling and have their case number at hand,” Mashigo said.
He said depending on the nature of the incident, depots may request a case number after the resident reported an incident. For example, some meter boxes belong to the consumer, although the meter is the property of the municipality.
“In all other cases of theft of metro property, like overhead wires, residents can report by phoning the customer care number and select the option for electricity.”
When residents report anything to the electrical department, they will need to provide: the account number, street number, street name, suburb, stand number, telephone numbers, short description of incident and case number.
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