City Power removed 13 illegally connected transformers and two truckloads of cables at Msawawa informal settlement in Kya Sands on Wednesday.
The illegal connections were discovered during an operation dealing with comprehensive load reduction.
"When we introduced load reduction two months ago, we made a commitment to aggressively deal with the main contributors of excessive electricity consumption...To date, we have carried out more than 50 disconnection operations, around informal settlements in the city,’’ said City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena.
Mangena said among the recovered transformers, the utility suspects that some of them might have been stolen.
He said the security risk management team was still tracking whether the transformers were stolen from City Power or other municipalities
Nine transformers were to taken City Power's head office while others have been secured and will be cleared on Thursday.
Mangena added that each transformer is estimated to cost around R450 000.
Meanwhile, City Power CEO, Tshifularo Mashava, said Kya Sands and surrounding areas have been plagued by constant power outages resulting from illegal connections, theft, and vandalism.
“The problem of illegal connections has put an unbearable amount of weight to our network, risking collapsing the grid.
“Today's discovery of 13 transformers in a single informal settlement, shows the gravity of the challenge we are facing, but also points to the sterling work of our security team and the police, which we greatly commend,’’ she said.
She added that the utility was aware of syndicates that were running their own unlawful transmission and distribution networks.
“According to reports, these organised criminals steal cables and transformers and then provide illegal electricity connections at a fee. It’s believed that informal settlement dwellers who benefit from these illegal connections pay between R200 up to R1,000 depending on usage.
“We are calling for these syndicates that are placing the lives of people at risk, to be put behind bars,” she said.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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