Midrand residents left in the dark after City Power cuts off defaulting complexes

Residents in a Midrand residential complex were shocked to discover their body corporate has not been paying their electricity bill when City Power descended on the complex and switched off power, leaving them in the dark.

“The residents found out their body corporate had been underpaying for electricity services despite receiving full monthly payments from tenants and owners.

“This unfortunate situation has left the residents without power. City Power strongly condemns the practice and urges tenants to hold their landlords and body corporates accountable for ensuring timely payments for essential services,” said City Power's spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

City Power also disconnected other complexes that have defaulted, including one in Country View that owes R1.5m, another in Halfway Gardens with a debt of R4.5m, a third in Sagewood owing R6.3m, and a fourth in Erand Gardens with a debt of R9.1m.

“A body corporate in Sagewood made an immediate payment of R1m towards its R4m debt to avoid disconnection and entered into a payment arrangement,” said Mangena.

This happened on Thursday when City Power embarked on a drive to collect some of the R9.6bn owed by defaulting customers. More than R346m of that amount is owed by business and residential customers within the Midrand service delivery centre (SDC) supply areas, he said.

Mangena said they have intensified their revenue collection strategy, with two outreach operations per quarter at each SDC.

“The operation is part of City Power's efforts to address the growing issue of unpaid electricity bills and non-compliance,” he said.

Mangena said seven large power users and body corporates with a combined debt of R40m had their power supply cut off.

“The major cut-off operations are carried out weekly, helping to reduce the level of arrears and ensure customers fulfil their financial obligations.”

He said they confiscated two illegally connected transformers in the Floyd Shivambu informal settlement.

“The transformers were found hidden inside a locked shack, demonstrating the lengths to which some individuals go to steal electricity.

“The unauthorised connections result in overloading, which can lead to equipment exploding and catching fire, and resulting in prolonged widespread outages and delays in repairing the damage and replacing the equipment. We are continuing to closely monitor this area and others, and engaging with law enforcement agencies to assist with our efforts to tackle the growing problem of illegal connections.

“City Power is dedicated to providing reliable and safe electricity services to its customers. However, illegal connections undermine the efforts and threaten the integrity of the electricity network. We plead for residents’ co-operation in reporting suspicious activities as this is essential to maintaining a safe and sustainable power supply for all.”

SowetanLIVE