City Power has uncovered a full-scale case of electricity theft in Alexandra, where all 384 households on 11th Avenue were found to have tampered with or bypassed newly installed prepaid meters.
The discovery exposes the collapse of a recent infrastructure rollout meant to stabilise supply and improve billing accuracy, with officials confirming that every installation in the street was compromised within months.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the extent of the violations points to a complete breakdown of compliance in the community.
“We found that all 384 households had bridged or tampered with their meters. Meter bridging bypasses the system entirely, allowing electricity to be consumed without being billed. It is theft, and it places enormous strain on the network,” Mangena said.
The meters were installed in October 2025 as part of a broader infrastructure upgrade and revenue protection drive aimed at improving billing accuracy, stabilising supply and curbing illegal connections. But by January 2026, a sharp drop in electricity purchases triggered an investigation.
The financial and operational impact has been severe. According to Mangena, the loss of revenue directly affects the utility’s ability to maintain infrastructure, respond to outages and deliver reliable services to paying customers.
He warned that illegal connections also increase the risk of equipment damage, fires and explosions.
City Power has since moved to enforce penalties. Households are required to pay R14 408, while pensioners face a reduced fine of R4 605 before electricity can be legally restored.
The findings back claims by Ward 108 councillor Deborah Francisco, who has blamed ongoing outages in the area on residents bypassing the system rather than failures by the utility.
Francisco said efforts to stabilise supply, including the installation of new meter boxes and transformer repairs have been repeatedly undermined by illegal connections.
She added that compliance is now a condition for service restoration, with City Power requiring at least 80% of customers in an area to purchase electricity legally before infrastructure is repaired or replaced.
Despite engagements with the community and attempts to reach agreements, non-compliance has persisted.
City Power maintains that Alexandra is not being singled out, with similar enforcement operations rolled out in other areas as part of a citywide effort to protect infrastructure and restore lawful electricity usage.
The Star
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