City Power cuts electricity of hijacked Doornfontein buildings over R5m debt

City Power disconnected five hijacked buildings in Doornfontein, Johannesburg, on Wednesday.

The five buildings collectively owe close to R5m, with one building owing about R2m, City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said.

The ongoing disconnections in the inner city are not only about recovering money but also about addressing safety concerns in buildings with illegal electricity connections, he said.

City Power has identified about 108 bad buildings across the inner city, Mangena said. Together they owe about R115m to the utility.

“Electricity theft is very common. City Power was losing about R18bn annually through electricity theft and money owed to the utility,” he said.

The utility does not immediately disconnect properties when they fall into arrears, said Mangena. It first:

However, officials often find that the buildings have been hijacked and that people have already moved in. In some cases, occupants have built makeshift structures inside the buildings and connected themselves illegally to the electricity supply.

We don’t rush to disconnect people—  Isaac Mangena, City Power spokesperson

“We come physically, knock at the door and leave the letters at the door.”

City Power issues about three pre-termination notices before moving ahead with a disconnection if the owner does not respond, he said.

People occupying the hijacked buildings often reconnect themselves illegally after City Power has disconnected the supply, he said. “You can think of it as like your informal settlements, where after disconnecting, you find that these people still come back and try to reconnect.”

The utility is working with other City of Johannesburg departments, including the Johannesburg metro police department and building control, to deal with the buildings.

City Power is also concerned about the safety risks posed by the buildings. Mangena referred to the Usindiso building fire as an example of the potentially deadly consequences of unsafe conditions in hijacked buildings.

City Power wants some of the buildings, where they do not meet building and safety requirements, to eventually be declared unliveable

In cases where no owner comes forward, the utility has started removing its infrastructure, including mini-substations, feeder boards and cables, from some properties.

Mangena defended the time taken to act against some of the buildings, saying City Power does not want to disconnect a property before giving owners an opportunity to settle their debts.

He said some owners only came forward after a year or two and were then able to pay what they owed.

The utility hopes that some outstanding debt can be recovered when the city takes over certain properties and sells them to private developers, he added.