Speaking to Ster North on Monday, Viljoen said the MLM was loosing a lot of money to illegal electricity connections.

Viljoen says: “Illegal electrical connections are a huge concern for the municipality.”

The electrical outages caused by these illegal electrical connections worsen during the winter season. These illegal connections have increased in volume recently, leading to frequent outages in some areas of Ward 5 and Ward 8.

The Sedibeng District Commissioner Major General Zodwa Molefe has previously raised concerns about illegal electricity connections in Sicelo. Molefe stated that the electricity cables and wires crossing the streets in the area pose a danger to children.

Viljoen said MLM is concerned about the risk to residents’ safety posed by illegal connections.

“There have previously been deaths reported due to these unsafe connections. This operation is conducted in an effort to decrease the number of injuries reported, as well as to stabilise our electrical infrastructure.

“MLM, external stakeholders and the SAPS will continue to monitor the area.”

Viljoen states that MLM is currently in the process of improving bulk infrastructure in the affected areas to mitigate against future outages in the areas.