Pretoria - The City of Tshwane is gunning for customers who reconnected their electricity after being disconnected for the non-payment of their municipal bills.
In this regard, Mayor Randall Williams continues to lead the City’s strict programme to maximise revenue collection as part of the Tshwane Ya Tima drive.
The campaign focuses on ensuring that all defaulters pay for water and electricity. Another aim is to remove all illegal connections.
The City’s Energy and Electricity Department, working with the Tshwane Metro Police Department and the SAPS, yesterday disconnected 1 000 illegal electricity connections in Lotus Gardens.
Williams said: “This area has been negatively affected by overloading due to illegal connections.
“The multi-stakeholder operation focused on illegal connections in Fig, Acer and Eucalyptus Avenue, including five mini substations that were tampered with.
“An estimated value of R750 000 of electrical material was recovered during the operation, including aluminium cable conductors.
“This large-scale operation led to the successful removal of approximately 1 000 illegal connections in the Lotus Gardens area.
“This follows our previous operation where we disconnected about 800 illegal connections in the Brazzaville informal settlement. We intend to continue with these operations in all regions.”
The City has, however, extended an olive branch to households and businesses with illegal connections by introducing an amnesty programme.
It applied to electricity, water theft and meter tampering.
The programme is a once-off opportunity for residents to come forward and declare their illegal connections before the City disconnects them and issues them with heavy fines, with the possibility of legal action.
Homeowners and businesses may apply for the amnesty programme on the City website, or at walk-in centres.
The City of Tshwane programme ends on September 30.
Pretoria News