City of Tshwane removes 800 illegal electricity connections

The City of Tshwane on Tuesday disconnected 800 illegal electricity connections at the Brazzaville informal settlement.

The operation was conducted by the City of Tshwane Energy and Electricity Department, Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) and the Danville police station.

Tshwane’s MMC for Utilities Daryl Johnston said these illegal connections affected the electricity supply at the Brazzaville informal settlement and neighbouring areas.

The illegal cables were connected to the Phelindaba overhead, which supplies areas such as Schurveberg AH and other nearby businesses.

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“The illegal connections had a negative effect on the supply of electricity in the area to residential and commercial consumers,” said Johnston.

About R400,000 worth of electrical material was removed during the operation at the informal settlement.

They also removed important infrastructure – three medium-voltage transformers including 11 kV overhead lines, aluminium conductors and aluminium aerial bundle conductors.

Johnston said these illegal connections compromise the electrical system which causes power trips after load-shedding. This leads to extended power outages in the area. 

This is then worsened by the theft of infrastructure, such as cables, conductors and transformers.

“Furthermore, illegal connections cost the city hundreds of millions of rand in damages to infrastructure and repair costs. These result in significant non-revenue losses that destroy the city’s finances,” added Johnston.

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