Final call to come forward about meters

TODAY is the final deadline for residents with tampered City Power electricity meters to register their meters and have them normalised by technicians free of charge. Registration can be done at City Power’s head office, 40 Heronmere Road, Booysens.

There are about 960 000 approved residential properties in Joburg, and despite Eskom supplying electricity to Orange Farm, most parts of Soweto, Sandton and areas in Region A, City Power is billing only 380 000 households for electricity.

“If we wish to keep the city’s lights on, upgrade infrastructure and electrify more informal settlements, the non-payment for services due to bridged meters and illegal connections must become a thing of the past.

“Further to this, illegal connections and bridged meters are extremely dangerous and can result in serious injury, or in worst-case scenarios, death. Illegal connections also impact on the lives of residents who are paying for services, as they overload our system and result in power surges and lengthy outages,” said Nico de Jager, the member of the mayoral committee for environment and infrastructure services department.

“Tampering with the city’s infrastructure and vandalising city property costs millions of rand each year which could have otherwise been used to enhance and expand services,” he added.

“Community educational campaigns on the long-term benefits of paying for services will also be ongoing,” he said

“I urge all residents to be active community members and report any suspicious activity to the Joburg metro police department on 011 375 5911 or SAPS on 10111, without confronting suspects, and to keep in mind that if they knowingly receive municipal services for which they are not paying, they are guilty of an offence,” he said.