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“Eskom loses millions per year due to illegal connections to the network. We found that customers are willing to pay someone to connect them illegally instead of paying Eskom for consumption, ”Kotze said.
City Power’s Isaac Mangena said the power company was losing around R2bn in non-technical losses, which included illegal connections.
Mangena said this lost money could have been invested in infrastructure to ensure “sustainability of supply.”
“But due to these illegal connections, we are losing billions. You can imagine how serious it is. It not only makes residents uncomfortable, but also the business community.
“When we have illegal connections throughout the city, we get to a point where we have a network overload or infrastructure breakdown.”
Mangena said they had recently stepped up their crackdown on illegal connections across the city.
He said hotspots included informal settlements like Alexandra and Rabie Ridge in Midrand.
During an operation at Rabie Ridge on December 17, Mangena said they recovered stolen cables used for illegal connections worth around R1.2m.
Other critical areas included informal settlements around Lenasia, Roodepoort and in downtown Johannesburg.
“We are also seeing an increase in these illegal connections in suburban areas.”
In September, City Power said a luxury development in Dainfern, Johannesburg, owed them R 13 million in illegal power connections.
Mangena said at the time that millions in revenue were being lost on the Dainfern extensions, Dainfern proper, and Dainfern Ridge.
The highest individual debt owed by a client was R1.4m and the house was found unmetered, so it was illegally connected, Mangena said.
“We will continue to intensify these operations to ensure we deal with the problem of illegal connections because it affects City Power’s duty to provide electricity to the people of the city of Johannesburg.”
TimesLIVE
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