In an effort to recoup non-technical losses that amount to R2 billion a year, City Power plans to impose steep fines on those who connect to the Johannesburg power grid illegally.
The move also comes after the fatal electrocution of a newly web couple in Crosby. City Power discovered that their rented house had a tampered meter and a missing earth leakage.
“Legislators have agreed on applying the Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997 and the Criminal Matters Amendment Act 18 of 2015 to empower the courts to impose harsher sentences on criminals who tamper with the national infrastructure,” City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena explained in a statement issued by City Power Relationship Management.
“The amendment allows for the imposition of a severe penalty, which includes a maximum imprisonment of up to 30 years for the offender and a minimum sentence of not less than three years behind bars.”
Meter-tampering is fraud, which is a crime. It may result in criminal charges being laid against an offender. City Power is legislated in terms of municipal by-laws to cut electricity supply to the offender, and remove their cables and circuit breaker. This also applies to prepaid customers.
Offenders will have to pay a reconnection fee penalty of between R10 000 and R50 000 when they apply for a reconnection, depending on the seriousness of the offence.
“City Power is facing a huge challenge of stemming the tide of meter tampering, illegal connections, electricity theft, vandalism and theft of the infrastructure. Tampering is an activity that includes altering, cutting, disturbing, interfering with, interrupting, manipulating, obstructing, removing or uprooting by any means, method or device an essential infrastructure, or component of the essential infrastructure, which provides a basic service,” Isaac said.
City Power urges residents of the City of Johannesburg to desist from this illegal behaviour as it is viewed as committing an essential infrastructure-related offence. The non-technical losses that City Power incurs annually amount to R2 billion. This not only negatively affects City Power revenue collection and service delivery, but also results in loss of lives in the communities the utility serves.
“In the last financial year, City Power recorded 16 fatalities and several injuries from illegal activities on our network. These included tampering with earth leakages in private houses, which creates a dangerous situation,” he said.
Theft of meters and other forms of infrastructure deters the utility’s efforts to issue accurate bills, and provide quality services to the residents of Johannesburg. It contributes to tariff increases.
According to the statement, City Power conducted 52 operations to remove illegal connections in the last financial year, which on average is one operation a week. In addition to removing illegal connections in the informal settlements, City Power executed more than 17 000 electricity cut-offs at properties of non-paying customers, inclusive of businesses in the suburbs, in the last six months of the previous financial year. These customers collectively owe City Power approximately R1,2 billion.
“Not only are illegal connections a violation of municipal by-laws and a danger to the people in the communities, but they cause overloading on mini-substations and pole-mounted transformers which eventually explode and burn, leaving residents without power for several hours if not days before replacement infrastructure can be found,” Isaac explained in the statement.
Though City Power works with law-enforcement agencies to prevent criminals from dismantling or vandalising its network, it also relies on partnerships with communities to report such illegal incidents anonymously on 0800 002 587 or at their nearest police station.
City Power also has a Risk and Security Management Team, which can be reached on 011 490 7900 or 011 490 7911 or 011 490 7504 to report incidents of cable theft 24 hours a day.
