Power utility City Power plans to ramp up efforts and impose steep fines to those who connect to the city’s power grid illegally.
According to a statement by the City of Johannesburg on August 4, incidents of meter tampering, illegal connections, electricity theft and the theft of infrastructure have increased, amounting to a total of R2 billion in ‘non-technical losses’ each year.
A number of incidents have also resulted in loss of life – 16 fatalities and several injuries from illegal activities were recorded in the last financial year.
More recently, a couple in Crosby were fatally electrocuted after it was discovered that their rented house had a tampered meter and a missing earth leakage. “Legislators have agreed on the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1997 and Criminal Matters Amendment Act of 2015 to empower the courts impose the harsher sentences on criminals who tamper with the national infrastructure,” said the City.
“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 may result in criminal charges in addition to City Power disconnecting the offenders electricity.
Offenders will also have to pay a reconnection penalty of between R10 000 and R50 000 when applying for a reconnection, depending on the seriousness of the offence.
The entity has conducted 52 operations to remove illegal connections over the last financial year, on average one operation a week.
In addition to the removal of illegal connections in informal settlements, City Power has also 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.
“City Power urges residents of the City of Johannesburg to desist from this illegal behaviour as it is viewed as a commitment of essential infrastructure offence.”
Communities can anonymously report illegal incidents at 0800 002 587 or at their nearest police station.
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