The City of Ekurhuleni is losing about R704-million in revenue annually due to illegal electricity connections across the City, and the situation has proven to be very difficult to arrest.
Although the war against electricity thieves in the City rages on, the problem has become so widespread that even the metro had to admit that its resources are no longer enough to solve the criminal practice once and for all.
According to the metro spokesperson, Themba Gadebe, the metro carries out regular unannounced blitzes on electricity thieves and remove their cables. However, inclusive of the assistance rendered by the EMPD and the SAPS during these raids, their resources had been stretched to breaking point.
Regardless of the limited availability of resources, Gadebe pointed out that the metro is soldiering on and is not prepared to admit defeat yet.
The metro further mentioned that its teams have between July and December last year managed to arrest over 21 perpetrators and removed and confiscated tons of illegal cables, mostly in the informal settlements.
The City of Ekurhuleni is losing about R704-million in revenue annually due to illegal electricity connections across the city, and the situation has proven to be very difficult to arrest. According to the metro, the war against illegal connections rages on and they have removed 50 711 izinyoka since July 2019.
The infographic illustrates the total removed in each town between October and December:
Here are the answers supplied by the metro to some of our questions about the war against electricity theft.
Are municipal authorities committed to fighting izinyoka (illegal electricity connections), thereby reducing the deadly incidents?
Yes, the City of Ekurhuleni is committed to removing all the illegal connections that are done on the electricity grid. This commitment has been demonstrated on numerous occasions. The volumes are very high and City resources are limited. From the number of disconnections of illegal electricity connections it can be seen that the City does extensive work to remove illegal connections. In a sustainable approach, however, the City is in the process of providing electricity connections to informal settlements. But this process will take a number of years to complete.
The metro previously told this publication it plays a decisive role by removing illegal connections from the power lines as they are identified, carry out regular raids, and criminal cases are opened against the persons suspected of stealing electricity. However, what this publication has gathered is that the wires get reconnected within minutes after the raids – and the problem is becoming more widespread. What would be your response to those who feel these raids are useless exercises and a waste of resources and taxpayers’ money?
Yes, we are removing these illegal connections, but the volumes are high. People are being arrested for illegal connections and are being charged for these illegal activities. Several cases are pending.
According to concerned residents, there are people who are cashing in on the situation, as they connect the cables to supply shacks in the informal settlement and collect money from residents. Has anyone been arrested and prosecuted for these connections in Boksburg?
Cases are pending and more arrests will be made.
Why is it taking your team so long to return to the hot spots or monitoring them after carrying out the raids to perhaps catch the perpetrators in the act?
The City has thousands of illegal connections known to the department and more than 100 informal settlements in the City Ekurhuleni. Unlimited resources are unfortunately not available.
Don’t you think the failure to do follow-ups within a short space of time after the raids contribute to your presumed failure to fix the problem?
The larger problems related to illegal connections cannot only be resolved by removing these connections by force. The energy department is not in a position to discuss the socio-economic situation, joblessness and so forth. Our mandate is to have a safe grid and for electricity losses to be controlled. It is also a fact that the City removes illegal connections, and then on the same day communities are able to buy new cable to do illegal connections.
People claim they report illegal connections they have come across, but the metro takes months to react. Why is it taking your technical officials long to attend to such reports?
Removal of illegal connections is being done according to operational plans; you might find that when the people come to report the issue, the team is already preparing itself to execute a project in another area. The City has limited resources to deal with illegal connections.
Surely, your previous plans have failed to solve the issue. Are there any new measures the metro has put in place to end these dangerous izinyoka exposed to residents?
Previously the team was only doing an area once and then went to another one, but seeing that the illegal connections are being replaced the following day, if not the same day, the time spent on one area has been extended to three days or even more, subject to resources and the expensive nature of dealing with the problem. Projects are designed to be flexible, for instance, the City does respond to events as they occur and transform in order to maximise the success of each project.
Concerned residents claim municipal officials are aware of the illegal electricity lines going into the shacks in the informal settlements in Reiger Park, adding that the problem has existed for years now. Is the metro fighting a losing battle with illegal electricity connections in the informal settlements across the City?
The City is aware of the illegal connections in and around the Reiger Park area and projects were conducted in that area on numerous occasions. Analysing the quantity and quality of cables disconnected versus the cables reconnected, it may be claimed that the City is successful. More dwellings are being disconnected than the ones that are found reconnected.
We understand that when sent out to the affected areas, your technicians are in some instances victimised and stoned by those involved. Has the problem become too big for the metro’s electricity department?
There are a few isolated incidents where our technicians were attacked during the performance of their duties, but by that we cannot say the problem is too big for the City of Ekurhuleni energy department. For safety reasons, the technicians alone cannot deal with illegal connections due to the fact that most of those cables are supplying informal settlements and many resources are needed to remove them. The electricity department has joined forces with EMPD, SAPS and private security companies to deal with illegal connections and those profiting from the illegal distribution of electricity.
How are these electricity thefts impacting the City’s electricity department’s revenue?
The City of Ekurhuleni is losing about R704-m annually on revenue losses due to illegal connections.
The municipality previously announced its plan to electrify informal settlements, but years down the line illegal connections are still the only way most shack dwellers can get electricity in Boksburg areas. As part of the shack electrification programme, does the metro have plans to instal legal electricity for the shacks in Joe Slovo, Tokyo, Ramaphosa, Delmore, Jerusalem, Kanana and Angelo informal settlements?
Electrification projects do occur, but again, there is a limit to the resources that the City is able to allocate to these projects. The energy department has a very generous capital budget to execute electrification projects; however, a reconfiguration of the dwellings in an area is required before construction can commence. The City’s human settlements department executes these projects, after which the energy department will instal grid infrastructure.
Is the metro aware of the continuous fatalities caused by illegal electricity connections in Reiger Park?
The City is not aware of continuous fatalities caused by illegal connections. There are two incidents that were officially reported to the energy department chief area engineer at the Boksburg Depot.
When will the metro embark on a campaign to educate the communities in question on the dangers associated with illegal connections?
The City is continuously educating communities per depot area to inform them about illegal connections and how to use electricity wisely. These customer education events are done at least four times per year, per depot area.
Where can residents report illegal connections?
They can report it to the City of Ekurhuleni call centre number (0860 54 3000).
The metro would like to appeal to citizens not to participate in illegal connections, as these connections can cause death and severe injury.
“Criminals profiting from illegal connections must be assured that the City will track them down and then use the full force of the law to ensure that justice is done.”
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