City Power strengthens fight against cable theft and illegal connections

City Power Chief Risk Officer Sergeant Thela says the entity continues to intensify its efforts to combat cable theft, vandalism, and illegal electricity connections across Johannesburg.

Thela’s responsibilities include enterprise risk management, business continuity management, security services, revenue protection, insurance, and risk finance. Speaking about ongoing challenges in security services, Thela said cable theft, vandalism, and illegal connections remain major risks affecting the resilience and stability of City Power’s electricity network.

“These issues lead to power outages that frustrate customers, and in some cases, communities end up embarking on service delivery protests,” Thela said.

He explained that organised criminal groups are increasingly behind illegal connections. “We have seen a trend where certain crime syndicates illegally connect to the network and then charge households a monthly fee for electricity. Our sources indicate that these syndicates collect between R200 and R500 per household each month. This amounts to millions of rand in revenue that should be going to the municipality,” he said.

To address the problem, City Power has strengthened partnerships with various stakeholders. “We have been collaborating with community policing forums, private security companies, the South African Police Service, and the National Prosecuting Authority to fight this scourge. You cannot fight it alone. A multidisciplinary approach is needed,” Thela said.

He added that these collaborations have already produced positive results. “We have seen a 27 percent decrease in incidents when comparing the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years. Arrests have increased from 295 to 393. The number of convicted suspects also grew from 27, who received a combined sentence of 201 years in 2023/24, to 35 suspects sentenced to a combined 272 years in 2024/25,” he said.

According to Thela, these results show that City Power’s joint strategies are effective. “We are encouraged to take this collaboration to the next level. As we embark on the just energy transition, we have seen that these particular strategies are working for us, and we will continue to strengthen them,” he said.

City Power plans to integrate more technology into its security operations. “We will introduce a technology-driven approach to security so that we can monitor our infrastructure wherever it is located and respond quickly when an incident is reported. This is where we are heading. City Power is leading the nation,” Thela said.

This week, the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court sentenced 49-year-old Chrispen Chikwera to 15 years in prison for tampering with City Power’s electrical infrastructure in Greenside. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the conviction highlights the severe consequences of infrastructure crimes, which cost municipalities billions of rand each year due to theft and vandalism.

Thela welcomed the court’s decision and said it reflected the strength of teamwork between different institutions. “We are encouraged by the 15-year sentence. It was made possible through the collaborative work of the investigator, prosecutor, witnesses, and our security personnel,” he said.

He explained that City Power must show the extent of the damage during such court cases. “As the owner of the network, we are required to demonstrate the damage caused. We are of the view that the court arrived at the appropriate decision because there were no mitigating factors. The minimum sentence is 15 years, and the magistrate was right to apply it,” he said.

While most illegal connection cases occur in townships, Thela said the problem also extends to large businesses. When asked about firms and malls found to have illegally connected electricity, Thela said City Power often prioritises recovering the money rather than pushing for criminal convictions.

“You will find that a business owner who owes City Power R15 million reconnects themselves after we disconnect them. We return to disconnect them again, and they repeat the act until they finally pay. It is frustrating, but our main goal is to recover the lost revenue,” he said.

However, Thela said repeated offenders eventually face criminal consequences. “If a business reconnects itself about five times, we then proceed with a criminal case. We have reached that point because persistent offenders continue to undermine the system,” he said.

City Power continues to call on residents, businesses, and communities to report suspicious activities and illegal connections as part of its efforts to protect Johannesburg’s power infrastructure and ensure reliable electricity supply.