City Power clamps down on illegal connections in Jeppestown after deadly blaze
City Power on Sunday removed illegal electricity connections in Jeppestown after a building caught fire in the area, leaving four people dead.
According to the entity, this is part of its ongoing safety and load reduction campaign which aims to address the issue of illegal connections in the City of Johannesburg.
The utility's spokesperson Isaac Mangena says though the cause of the fire is still under investigation, it has been established that power supply to the burnt building was illegally connected from at least two load centres.
"City Power has discovered that the burnt property, which is privately owned, has no registered electricity account," said Mangena.
READ: Jeppestown building fire claims four lives
Mangena says a majority of buildings in the area are illegally connected to services such as electricity and water.
"The team has removed over 4 000kg of Arial Bundle Cables worth R120 000 and will still continue with the work of removing additional wires.
"It's important to highlight that our efforts of removing such unauthorised connections on a regular basis are often met with violent resistance, with Jeppestown being a hotspot of such resistance," added Mangena.
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