Several Joburg residents have claimed that they report many incidents where people are connecting themselves illegally to street poles, yet nothing is done.This is while the City of Joburg is making serious attempts to recover arrears to increase its revenue levels,
According to the residents, who do not want to be named, this is happening in many streets in the Brixton and Vrededorp/Sophiatown areas.
“Near the Brixton cemetery in Collins and Caroline streets there are three houses openly connected to street poles. And we, as ratepayers, must pay every month while they do not,” she said.
A Glenanda resident claims that three houses in the area are connected to street poles.
“We reported it to City Power every week or two. In early January they were finally taken down. Then, in the beginning of February, two of the houses reconnected themselves. We have reported this to the crime line 33211, and we reported it to City Power, who eventually gave us another number. They also gave us another number to call, which we duly did, but three months down the line now, the connection is still up.
“We don’t know who else to contact in connection with this as City Power just do nothing about it, and I don’t see why they should get away with it while I have to meet my electricity bill every month,” he said.
A Lenasia Drive Extension resident is complaining about the same thing.
Squatters pull an illegal line across the main street, and this has been going on for the past three months.
City Power said it was aware of illegal connections in this part of Lenasia and these had been prioritised for removal.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said: “Currently we are engaging with all the relevant stakeholders, including SAPS, JMPD, the regional director and depot manager with a view to conducting a major operation to remove all the illegal connections in the same area.
"City Power is also engaged in a plan to find alternative supply points for the paying residents once the illegal connections have been removed.
"City Power has removed illegal connections twice in this area in the recent past. On the last occasion, a tragic incident occurred which resulted in loss of a life of one of the workers participating in the joint operation with City Power, who was stabbed to death. Hence it is very important for City Power to fully consult all the relevant stakeholders and ensure that everybody is well prepared for this type of operation.
"Eskom says illegal connections are one of the leading causes of electricity-related injuries and deaths in South Africa, and children are the most common victims. An electricity connection is considered illegal when it is made to the Eskom network without Eskom’s permission These connections not only pose great risks as they overload the system, but can lead to fires and electrocution," Mangena added.