Illegal power usage probed at EL eateries
Owner denies knowing of ‘izinyoka’ connections
BUFFALO City Metro electricity inspectors say they have discovered that a wealthy Eastern Cape businessman has been using “izinyoka”, or illegal electricity connections, at three of his businesses in East London.
BCM spokesman Sibusiso Cindi said yesterday Michael Osner, who owns a pizza outlet and two popular pub-and-grub businesses in Nahoon and Abbotsford, has allegedly been stealing electricity from BCM for two years.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Osner denied he had illegal electricity connections at any of the three businesses, saying he suspected that if the Abbotsford Arms had illegal connections, “it must have been from the previous tenant”.
Osner is the director of Kat Leisure Hotel Group. He is also the youngest son of late property tycoon Michael “Micky” Osner, who made a name for himself in the hotel business and was the owner of many large commercial and industrial properties.
Among Osner’s prized possessions are a Ford Mustang and the latest Jeep.
Last week, when BCM electricity and energy services revenue protection specialists raided the Nahoon Arms Pub and Grub in Beach Road, the Abbotsford Arms Pub and Grub and Pedro’s Pizza in Abbotsford, they discovered illegally connected wires.
“On inspection and testing of these installations the revenue protection specialist electrician found a number of internal circuits that should have been metered by the BCM electrical meter had been bypassed and therefore were not being metered, providing the businesses with ‘free’ electricity on those circuits.
“After analysing the consumption and prepayment purchasing patterns, the results indicated the meters have been bypassed from the date that these businesses started their operations,” Cindi said.
This led to the businesses being disconnected from the city’s power network to allow for the tampering to be rectified.
Yesterday Pedro’s Pizza still had no power, while Nahoon Arms’ main switch was tripping at regular intervals.
Cindi said: “All stolen consumption will be calculated and they would be required to [pay] BCM for this consumption. The owner will pay a meter-tampering fee of R1 1175 or 20% of monthly consumption, pay a disconnection fee of R612, pay to be upgraded to automated meter reading at R10 375, and provide BCM with an electrical certificate of compliance for each installation.”
He added that the metro lost on average R60-million a year to electricity theft.
Osner owns the businesses along with his fiancée Chrisanne Glover and business partners Linda Gunn and Allen Gunn.
Osner said with regard to Abbotsford Arms: “We categorically deny stealing any electricity, and if this is the case it must have been from the previous tenant. We are absolutely shocked and unwilling to pay a hefty fine we do not believe is for our account.
“As for Nahoon Arms, again as mentioned we were not made aware that there is a problem of any sort as we are spending huge amounts on electricity at both places weekly.”
The Gunns did not respond to requests for comment.
Cindi said BCM had been made aware of a syndicate operating in the province offering businesses ways to bypass municipal electricity meters for a fee.
“A technically skilled person flies to East London and bypasses BCM installed meters for R5 000. These suspected cases have been handed over to the SAPS organised crimes unit for a syndicate type of crime prosecution.”
The metro’s portfolio head of the infrastructure and engineering department, Ncedo Kumbaca said: “We are now sending a clear message to society that we are not going to tolerate anyone who undermines our effort to fight electricity losses, even if that person is powerful in business and every sphere of society. We are going to intensify this work going forward with the ability of a cat and ferocity of a cornered bull.”