City of Joburg to investigate if its truck was used for illegal electricity connections

Johannesburg’s City Power authority says it will investigate allegations that its own truck was illegally connecting people to electricity in Coronationville‚ southern Johannesburg.

A city resident‚ Michael Thompson‚ alerted Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba of a truck on Harmony street in Coronationville‚ which was illegally connecting electricity at the weekend.

“City Power Contractor connecting illegal power lines from street lights in Harmony Street‚ Coronationville. Please deal with these culprits as it constitutes a crime. Details of the truck can be clearly seen. Thank you Mr. Mayor‚” Thompson said in his tweet‚ which tagged Mashaba’s personal account.

City Power spokesperson Sol Masolo said he appreciated the effort from the resident in informing the city of the alleged illegal activity.

“City Power would like to thank members of the community in identifying illegal activities and reporting them to City Power. An investigation into the matter will be launched to bring the culprits to book. The investigators will take statements from potential witnesses‚” said Masolo.

He said that in the event community members observed City Power employees or contractors engaging in illegal activities on the network‚ they should forthwith call Risk Control at 011 490 7900/ 7911/ 7553.

“Members of the community are also encouraged to verify the identity of City Power employees or contractors by demanding to see their ID cards and further ask for a Job Card (with work order number) for the work they purport to be doing. This information can be verified with Risk Control.

“If practical‚ members of the community may also take pictures of the vehicle‚ the part of the network where the contractor/ employee is working as well as the relevant street address‚” Masolo said.

Illegal connection of electricity is a serious problem for the City of Johannesburg. The city loses millions in revenue‚ the electricity networks gets overloaded resulting in power supply interruption.