City Power has withdrawn all technical restoration and maintenance services from Tshepisong, west of Johannesburg, saying repeated illegal reconnections and sabotage have made it too dangerous for technicians to work in the area.
The power utility said the decision took effect on Friday and would remain in place until the community showed a clear commitment to following the agreed electricity normalisation process.
“This decision follows repeated incidents where community members have illegally reconnected newly installed pole-mounted transformers and thrown wires onto electricity lines to deliberately trip the network, placing lives at risk, damaging critical infrastructure and undermining efforts to restore a safe and sustainable electricity supply,” said the utility.
City Power said the normalisation programme is aimed at rebuilding networks that have been damaged by illegal connections, overloaded transformers and meter tampering. The programme includes replacing damaged infrastructure, installing new transformers and prepaid metering systems and encouraging residents to buy electricity legally before supply is restored.
It stressed the programme is not unique to Tshepisong and has also been implemented in Pennyville, Mayibuye, Lehae and Freedom Park.
The utility described Tshepisong as one of the most difficult areas on its network. Though the area has more than 12,000 customers, it said only about 3% buy electricity legally. Most of those purchasing electricity are businesses, including Pick n Pay, a BP garage, a butchery, chicken farms and bulk egg suppliers.
City Power said it invested millions to improve electricity supply in the area. Between January and May 2025 alone, it installed more than 20 new pole-mounted transformers at an estimated cost of R400,000 each.
However, it said illegal connections, cable tampering and network overloading continue to destroy infrastructure and undo the progress made.
The utility said it requires communities to reach an 80% electricity vending compliance level before newly installed infrastructure is switched on. In Tshepisong, residents are required to make an initial electricity purchase of R500, while pensioners registered on the expanded social package must make an initial purchase of R200 before the new infrastructure can be safely energised.
Though several transformers are ready to supply electricity, City Power said they will stay switched off because the required compliance levels have not been met.
“Instead of supporting the process, some individuals have illegally reconnected the transformers before commissioning and continue to interfere with the network by reconnecting infrastructure unlawfully and throwing wires onto overhead electricity lines to deliberately trip feeders. These actions have made it impossible for City Power to continue carrying out restoration work safely,” it said.
The utility said it has held daily meetings with the ward councillor and community leaders throughout the normalisation programme and has repeatedly explained the conditions required to get the power back on. Despite these engagements, it said compliance is “extremely poor”.
It said the safety of its employees had become a major concern.
“The decision to withdraw services is not intended to punish law-abiding residents. It is a necessary intervention to protect employees, safeguard public infrastructure and ensure further investment is not immediately destroyed through unlawful activities,” it said.
City Power said technical teams would only return once there was clear evidence of community co-operation, the required 80% vending threshold had been reached and electricity infrastructure was protected from illegal activities.
Lasting stability depends on residents using electricity legally and protecting public infrastructure.
TimesLIVE
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