{"id":16508,"date":"2025-07-17T09:22:28","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T07:22:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=16508"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:14:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:14:25","slug":"illegal-connections-city-power-informal-settlements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/illegal-connections-city-power-informal-settlements\/","title":{"rendered":"Illegal Connections Exposed: City Power\u2019s Action in Crown Informal Settlements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>City Power in Johannesburg is ramping up efforts to combat illegal electricity connections, particularly in informal settlements like Crown. These unauthorized connections not only pose serious risks to public safety but also put immense strain on the city\u2019s power grid, undermining efforts to provide reliable services. This article explores the enforcement actions taken by City Power and the ongoing challenges the utility faces in securing lawful and safe electricity access in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ALSO READ:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/drunk-driving-jmpd-arrests\/\">Crackdown on Drunk Driving: JMPD Makes 200+ Arrests Across Joburg<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-scope-of-illegal-connections-in-johannesburg\">The Scope of Illegal Connections in Johannesburg<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Illegal electricity connections remain a significant issue in Johannesburg\u2019s over 300 informal settlements. With many residents lacking formal access to electricity, they often resort to using unsafe wiring to bypass metering systems. In areas like Crown, many households are illegally connected to the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>City Power has identified the presence of illegal syndicates that charge residents for stolen electricity. These activities are hazardous, as they can overload the grid, damage infrastructure, and create severe fire and electrocution risks. Moreover, hijacked buildings equipped with makeshift wiring systems exacerbate the growing crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-1553959722\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-city-power-s-enforcement-measures\">City Power\u2019s Enforcement Measures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To address these risks, City Power has ramped up its disconnection operations, focusing heavily on areas like Crown and Newlands. Recent raids, particularly in July, targeted homes and businesses involved in electricity theft. Offenders face hefty financial penalties ranging from R14,000 to R30,000 for illegally connecting single-phase power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>City Power is working closely with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) to ensure safety during enforcement actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-financial-and-safety-consequences\">Financial and Safety Consequences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Illegal electricity connections come with massive financial and safety costs. In settlements like Crown and Industria, repeat offenders owe more than R23 million in unpaid electricity bills. Furthermore, the Hursthill Substation, which supplies power to areas like Auckland Park and Melville, has sustained losses amounting to R1.6 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond financial losses, the safety implications are severe. These illegal connections can cause electrocutions, fires, and damage to public infrastructure. Cable theft, for instance, has led to the disabling of streetlights across parts of Johannesburg. Technicians working for City Power are also frequently placed in life-threatening situations while attempting to disconnect illegal connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-1841971650\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-community-frustrations-and-structural-barriers\">Community Frustrations and Structural Barriers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many residents, particularly in areas like Alexandra Township, have voiced frustration after disconnection operations. Some claim that due to their exclusion from formal housing programs, they have no legal access to electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These communities argue that electricity should be regarded as a basic necessity, not a luxury, and urge City Power to work with housing departments to regularize electricity connections and address the structural issues that fuel illegal connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>City Power acknowledges these concerns. In areas where grid connections are not feasible due to terrain or density, the utility has rolled out the Free Basic Electricity (FBE) program to provide subsidized, legal access where possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IllegalDisconnections?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#IllegalDisconnections<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CityPowerIyakhatha?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#CityPowerIyakhatha<\/a> <br><br>[MEDIA STATEMENT]<br><br>Illegal Connections Removed at Crown Informal Settlement as Joburg Intensifies Crackdown on Non-Payment customers in the Inner City<br><br>City Power has removed and confiscated more than 10,000 kilograms of illegally\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CmvIHqtsoE\">pic.twitter.com\/CmvIHqtsoE<\/a><\/p>&mdash; @CityPowerJhb (@CityPowerJhb) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CityPowerJhb\/status\/1945541372074680526?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">July 16, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CityPowerJhb\/status\/1945541372074680526\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">X (Twitter)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-accountability-and-reform\">Accountability and Reform<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>City Power is not only focused on cutting off illegal connections but is also investigating potential collusion within the organization. Several employees and contractors are under scrutiny for allegedly facilitating reconnections. As these investigations unfold, arrests are expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moving forward, City Power plans to implement stricter monitoring, more routine checks, and coordinated enforcement operations. These efforts are crucial for stabilizing the city\u2019s electricity grid, reducing electricity fraud, and ensuring equitable energy access for all Johannesburg residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2890822288\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-conclusion\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>City Power\u2019s efforts to combat illegal electricity connections reflect a broader strategy aimed at ensuring safe, reliable, and lawful electricity access for Johannesburg\u2019s most vulnerable communities. Through a combination of enforcement, community engagement, and systemic reform, the utility is taking vital steps toward grid stabilization and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/news\/watch-what-happened-when-city-power-came-to-remove-illegal-connection-in-crown-informal-settlements\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fostering equity<\/a> in energy access for all residents of Johannesburg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>City Power in Johannesburg is ramping up efforts to combat illegal electricity connections, particularly in informal settlements like Crown. These unauthorized connections not only pose serious risks to public safety but also put immense strain on the city\u2019s power grid, undermining efforts to provide reliable services. This article explores the enforcement actions taken by City<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":16523,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"City Power in Johannesburg is ramping up efforts to combat illegal electricity connections, particularly in informal settlements like Crown. These unauthorized...","footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[819,2161,5755,2160,5743],"class_list":{"0":"post-16508","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-city-power","9":"tag-electricity-disconnections","10":"tag-illegal-connections","11":"tag-illegal-electricity","12":"tag-power-grid"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16508"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16525,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16508\/revisions\/16525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}