This translates to losses of about R2.8-m to R4.9-m which the metro suffers per month.
Ideally, this is the money which could otherwise be channelled towards service delivery projects.
In a bid to address this huge loss, the metro has embarked on a campaign to educate the communities about the adverse effects of illegal connections.
Member of Mayoral Committee for Water and Energy, Clr Aubrey Nxumalo, accompanied by the Red Ant Security Services, and members of the SAPS and EMPD, visited the Dukathole informal settlement (Germiston) recently, to educate residents on the financial and social costs that the illegal connection trade has on the metro and its people.
It is estimated that there are 14 000 illegal connections in Ekurhuleni and these are causing excessive strain on the local authority’s power supply.
These connections pose a danger to innocent children and community members; destroy the economy and reduce work opportunities, as well as destroying power infrastructure.
“Infrastructure damage due to illegal connections is evident in areas like KwaThema Extension Three, where an overhead transformer was replaced nine times in 2011,” said Nxumalo.
The MMC further said perpetrators of illegal connections have a few weeks to get their houses in order, because phase two will not only involve the removal of illegally connected cables, but offenders will be arrested.
This education drive will continue throughout the metro, and the Ergo informal settlement, in Brakpan, has already been visited.
