City Power takes stand against illegal connections in Alex
City Power is on a mission to eradicate illegal connections in Alexandra as it affects the quality of power supply which often includes overloading of the grid leading to transformer failures.
City Power’s spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the utility had spent over R3 million in two months replacing five mini-substations that have blown up due to overloading at an informal settlement, Greenville along London Road in Alexandra.
The power utility embarked on an operation targeting illegal connections in the area on August 2, accompanied by South African Police Service and Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) members for the safety of their employees.
“This is a problem we face because of vandalism and illegal connections that contribute toward a material shortage that we normally face,” Mangena said.
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“The illegal connections in the informal settlements have a bad impact on the formalised houses because half the time they do not have electricity because of the trips that happen due to overloading of the network.”
Mangena said one mini-substation costs almost R800 000. They will continue with the cutting of illegal connections so they can free up some space and ensure that people do not steal electricity.
There was anger and discontent as City Power officials pounced on unsuspecting residents, cutting off their illegally connected electricity supply.
One of the residents, Ntombiyoxolo Stli, expressed her frustrations with City Power’s operation.
“City Power should have alerted us on time about this operation so that we were not going to buy things that need refrigerators.
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“We are South Africans, we vote. We know this area is designated to Rea Vaya so they can give us houses. For now, we need electricity, toilets and water. We are human, how can we live like humans without electricity.”
Another resident, Thembeka Manci said, “We have children who wake up while it’s still cold in the morning and have to get ready for school. How are they going to bathe with cold water?
“We are unemployed; we can’t even afford to get one litre of paraffin. We are living in shacks; so what if we and our houses get burnt? We had no choice but to use izinyokanyoka [illegal connections] for survival.”
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