PRETORIA – A 50-year-old man was electrocuted in Alexandra, Joburg, as he allegedly tried to connect electricity to a shack illegally.
“It is alleged by locals that he was trying to illegally connect electricity when he was electrocuted on top of a shack. Paramedics confirmed him dead at the scene,” said Isaac Mangena, spokesperson for City of Joburg’s power utility City Power.
“Police and paramedics were called and certified him dead.”
Mangena said illegal connections of electricity into informal settlements and backrooms had become a major problem.
“City Power is having a serious problem of illegal connections in Alexandra from new informal settlements and the backrooms,” he said.
“We will intensify our operations to cut off illegal connections which have proven not only deadly, as in this case but also costly to the city as our infrastructure is vandalised for illegal connections to happen, and for the electricity they steal.”
Last year, City of Joburg appealed to residents to stop with illegal connections after a man believed to be from Mozambique was electrocuted at Thembelihle informal settlement.
The man was allegedly paid by residents to connect electricity illegally when he was electrocuted in an open veld next to Lenasia extension 11.
Thembelihle is one of many hotspots identified across Joburg where illegal connections are rife.
The then MMC for environment and infrastructure services in the city, Mpho Moerane said residents must stop with illegal connections because of the dangers involved and the fact that it inconveniences paying customers.
“Theft of electricity is a serious concern for us,“ Moerane said.
“We are aware of the people who get paid by the residents to connect them to our grid, as was the case with this incident. We have engaged the law enforcement agencies to follow up on some leads to ensure they are arrested.”
The city council said most power outages around Lenasia and surrounding areas were due to, among other factors, overloading caused by such connections.
IOL