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Informative Trust High 80% #city power #johannesburg #electricity #infrastructure #cable theft #corruption #utilities #consumer responsibility #safety standards

City Power shifts cable responsibility from utility to Johannesburg homeowners and businesses

Podcast Briefing 2:45

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Key Strategic Points

  1. 1 City Power stated that consumers are responsible for service cables from the meter box to their homes, reversing the utility's previous practice of installing and maintaining these connections.
  2. 2 The policy change is justified by City Power as addressing cable theft in non-affluent areas where stolen cables are reused for illegal connections in informal settlements.
  3. 3 All replacement cables must meet City Power's technical specifications and be installed by certified electricians, with a certificate of completion required before the utility will re-energize the property.
  4. 4 City Power acknowledged that contractors and internal staff members have been involved in corruption, including demanding bribes from customers to avoid disconnection or bypass meters.
  5. 5 City Power announced that Charles Dwan, a long-serving electrician within the utility, will serve as acting CEO following the recent resignation of the previous CEO after ten years of service.
  6. 6 The spokesperson warned that customers using substandard cables pose fire risks and potential damage to household appliances, and stated that City Power has testing capabilities to verify cable standards before energization.

Notable Quotes

“This is not a new thing that we are starting. This is just a reminder because of the extended quits we have seen the the increase in the amount of cables service cables that have been stolen and also the money that city power itself is actually losing um when replacing such service cables.”

— Isaac Manga, City Power Spokesperson

“We have um already conceded in terms of or never ruled out the involvement of our own um internal staff members, permanent staff members, but also even contractors and security guards in terms of some of the challenges that we're having including cable theft and vandalism.”

— Isaac Manga, City Power Spokesperson

“We are basically at work hard at work to ensure that we keep the lights on in the city of G while we miss Maba.”

— Isaac Manga, City Power Spokesperson

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