The Ekurhuleni metro has disconnected four businesses that owed more than R5-million in Benoni CBD on October 14.
The metro’s spokesperson, Themba Gadebe, said the disconnection raid was part of a wider campaign to fight illegal electrical connections.
“The metro lost R1.2-billion in revenue and damaged infrastructure during the 2019/2020 financial year due to illegal electricity connections,” said Gadebe.
“Among the commercial buildings that were cut off on Wednesday were two buildings, one rented out as residential flats and the other as shops.”
He added that in two cases, more than R1-m and R2-m were owned respectively.
The disconnection in Benoni followed a similar raid in Meyersdal on October 13, where residents in affluent estates with properties worth millions were found to have tampered with or bypassed electricity meters.
They were disconnected and issued with R3613.79 fines.
“These operations will continue across the metro until the habit of electricity theft is adequately dealt with,” he said
When seeing or noticing electricity meter tampering, residents are urged to call the metro’s call centre on 0860 543 000.
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