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Johannesburg City Power has disconnected illegal electrical connections in some settlements in Alexandra Township, an act that sparked violent protests.
On Wednesday morning, members of JMPD and SANDF helped City Power cut the illegal connection that it said cost it R2 billion per year.
The utility company is in the township Wednesday morning with police, JMPD and SANDF members to clamp down on illegal connections that cost City Power around R2 billion per year.
Isaac Mangena, City Power Media Relations Manager told EWN only 4% of the population of Alexandra Township pay for electricity.
“Only 4% of the people who stay in Alexandra are connected to City Power and are City Power customers,” he said.
City Power said illegal connections overload its network, causing outages and other problems.
He added that the disconnection of illegal connections is not directed at Alexandra and is carried out throughout Johannesburg.
He said this action is necessary to address the problems with revenue collection in Johannesburg.
The impact of these illegal connections goes far beyond lost income. It results in the explosion of the transformers and the failure of the network.
These power outages have a devastating impact on Johannesburg’s businesses and economy.
Violent protest action
City Power’s action was not well received by residents who launched a violent protest action and clashed with the police.
A community member said that City Power is ignoring its community. “Eskom is the one with problems, not our people,” he said.
“We are not foreigners on this earth. We are going to fight until they give electricity to our people, ”he said.
These residents said they want political leaders like President Cyril Ramaphosa and EFF leader Julius Malema to visit them to hear their complaints.
City Power said it will not be deterred by protests from residents and will continue its campaign to cut illegal connections.
City Power in Alexandra
City energy officials trying to eliminate illegal electrical connections
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