Electricity thieves getting nailed in South Africa
The cities of Joburg and Ekurhuleni, along with power utility Eskom, have been ramping up their actions against electricity thieves, illegal connections and criminality at power stations.
For the past two weeks, the groups have launched several operations that have led to the disconnection of businesses, households and equipment illegally tied to the grid, while Eskom contractors and employees have received their comeuppance for criminal actions that have damaged the utility’s operations.
Ekurhuleni
On Friday, 2 August, the City of Ekurhuleni successfully completed an operation where an industrial 300-amp circuit breaker and tons of cables used for illegal connections at hijacked buildings in the Germiston CBD were removed.
Dangerous and illegally connected wires were removed by the city, and a leaking hydrant pipe that was illegally used as a tap was disconnected.
The operation, which was led by the MMC for Finance Jongizizwe Dlabathi, marked the relaunch of the Siyakhokha Siyathuthuka revenue enhancement campaign, which is aimed at collecting revenues owed to the city.
The campaign is also targeting defaulters, residents and businesses that steal water and electricity from the municipality.
The City of Ekurhuleni is owed more than R65 million by businesses, residents and those running the hijacked buildings in the Germiston area alone.
The move follows a similar operation in late July, where the Energy Department, EMPD, SAPS and Gauteng Traffic and Crime Prevention Units removed 4,500 illegal connections in Benoni.
“Illegal connections do not only put the lives of innocent people at risk, but they also put pressure on the grid leading to unnecessary power outages due to the system overload,” the city said. More operations of this nature are planned.
Joburg
The City of Joburg, which has been fighting to keep its infrastructure together amid a wider collapse and load reduction initiatives, has also embarked on a few operations to tackle electricity theft.
At the end of July, the city’s power utility, City Power, cut off illegal connections and confiscated around 18,000 kilograms worth of aluminium cable conductors from informal settlements.
The operation, which was part of the entity’s comprehensive plan to reduce excessive electricity
consumption, was carried out in collaboration with law enforcement agencies.
City Power said is has already undertaken 44 operations in informal settlements to cut off illegal users.
Residents in informal settlements have been tapping into the city’s network unlawfully, stealing
electricity, contributing to overloading that tripped power in formalised housing, and destruction of
infrastructure.
The city has been forced to replace transformers in areas damaged by illegal connections, costing it millions of rands it can ill afford to spend.
It has also arrested individuals responsible for making the illegal connections, while others, who were in possession of stolen cables, have also been booked.
On Friday (2 August), the city’s fight continued, where it cut off illegal connections and removed around 10,000 kilograms worth of Aerial Bundle Cables (ABC), bare wires and aluminium cable conductors worth an estimated R500,000 in Alexandra.
Eskom
Eskom’s battles against criminality extend far beyond just illegal connections, with the group having to deal with high-level crimes at its power stations.
At the end of July, the group arrested contractor employees for theft of diesel at Kusile Power Station, and at the start of August, it reported that an individual previously arrested for copper cable crimes was successfully sentenced to 15 years in prison.
“Our security teams are making significant progress in curbing criminal activities through swift action and remain committed to protecting Eskom’s assets and holding offenders accountable,” Eskom said.
“These efforts are bolstered by the strong support of law enforcement agencies, coordinated, and led by the National Energy Crisis Committee’s (NECOM) Safety and Security Priority Committee, and the criminal justice system.”
Eskom’s operations have staged a significant turnaround since the group embarked on a major maintenance programme in 2023. However, the clamp down on criminal elements and activity ensured that these measures were not countered.
Previously, Eskom reported significant levels of high-level crime related to coal theft, diesel theft and acts of sabotage that exacerbated and delayed necessary maintenance work.
However, while its operations have improved, it still faces significant financial risk due to the non-payment of debts by municipalities, who are fighting their own electricity demons.
At latest reporting, South African municipalities owe Eskom a total of R82.3 billion in arrears, which the embattled state power utility is struggling to—and may never—collect.
Read: Big storm brewing over Eskom price hikes in South Africa
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