South Africa’s two biggest cities crack down on illegal electricity

Johannesburg power utility City Power has launched an aggressive operation targeting non-paying customers and illegal electricity connections in the metro, cutting off their supply to reclaim debt.

The initiative is similar to the City of Tshwane’s “Reclaim Our City” campaign, through which it recently disconnected tampered-with prepaid electricity meters in Sunnyside worth R1.7 million.

According to Joburg’s City Power, its latest operation took place on Monday, 31 March 2025, and with the help of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department and the Gauteng Prevention Wardens, disconnected three high-debt properties.

The properties — JHB Hotel at 60 Twist Street, Caridade Investment at 7 Fortesque, Yeoville, and Changing Tides at 285 Lillian Ngoyi Street — owe a combined R38.5 million.

However, City Power notes that a large portion of this is unpaid water bills. Of the R38.5 million, R11.6 million is attributed to electricity arrears.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the operation was the beginning of a broader strategy.

“Illegal connections are crippling our network and compromising service delivery. We are actively working to eliminate them while recovering outstanding revenue,” he said.

Mangena revealed that some City Power employees and contractors were involved in illegal reconnections.

“Those assisting non-paying customers in reconnecting unlawfully are being arrested,” he added.

City Power’s crackdown aligns with the City of Joburg’s efforts to restore order and financial stability. It warned that law enforcement is on high alert and that businesses and residents must comply or face severe consequences.

In early February 2025, the City of Tshwane revealed that its “Reclaim Our City” initiative had resulted in the disconnection of 55 tampered-with prepaid electricity meters in Sunnyside, Pretoria.

“As part of the City of Tshwane’s efforts to target lawlessness in Sunnyside, a successful meter tampering operation was conducted in the area, which uncovered tampered meters to the value of R1,669,650,” said spokesperson Zinhle Mahlati.

“This latest operation in Sunnyside forms part of targeted efforts by law enforcement to clamp down on unlawful and notorious activities in the area.”

The City of Tshwane said the accumulative costs of meter tampering amount to nearly R78 million.

During the operation in Sunnyside, authorities also shut down unlicensed businesses, arrested foreign nationals, and slapped offenders with hefty fines.

The municipality has been tackling illegal electricity use in the metro since mid-January 2025. Between 21 and 27 January, authorities uncovered 67 tampered-with meters worth R1.7 million.

“The City has also conducted successful illegal disconnections in targeted areas, including Lotus Gardens and Fort West in Region 3,” added Mahlati.

“The mayoral executive has made a commitment to improve service delivery. To achieve this objective, increasing revenue collection is paramount.”

Mahlati said residents with illegal connections are destroying the metro’s efforts to improve service delivery for all residents.

Since July 2024, the metro’s efforts to curb electricity theft have uncovered nearly 2,350 manipulated meters.

“About 494 of these accounts were on second tamper identification. The total cost of the accumulative tampering is R77,831,041,” said Mahlati.

Despite the crackdown, the City of Tshwane, in early March 2025, announced an amnesty period for residents with illegal electricity connections.

It gave offenders until 31 March 2025 to come forward and declare their status at a City of Tshwane customer care centre or the electricity department.

Tshwane spokesperson Zonke Mahlangu said doing so would allow these residents to avoid future disconnections.

“Customers who have tampered with their electricity meters are invited to come forward and declare,” Mahlangu said.

“Voluntarily reporting tampering with electricity meters will qualify for a tamper fee waiver provided they agree to the installation of a new meter and a protective device.”

“Any outstanding debt will be handled in accordance with the city’s credit control and debt collection policy,” he added.