Residents say the electricity cut-offs carried out yesterday, 13 November, happened without any prior notice.
The cut-offs affected vulnerable residents, including a woman who relies on oxygen to survive due to her illness and now has no electricity to charge her concentrator. “It’s dangerous; she needs her oxygen, but she can’t even charge it,” said a concerned neighbour.
One resident told GLOBE POST: “We didn’t receive any warning before the power was cut. We are paying for our electricity, yet some people in Lakeview are stealing it, and we end up paying more.”
This morning, community members disconnected several illegal connections they believe are driving up their electricity bills.
According to residents, they feel unfairly targeted as paying customers, while non-paying households in the nearby Lakeview informal settlement continue to draw electricity illegally. Many say they are already struggling, with some households headed by pensioners or unemployed residents. Residents claim City Power technicians told them reconnection would cost R14,000 – an amount most cannot afford. “How are we supposed to pay that? Some of us are pensioners or unemployed,” another resident said.
Community members are demanding clarity on what City Power is doing – or plans to do – to address illegal connections in the informal settlement.
They also questioned the presence of a female contractor who claimed she had been hired to reconnect electricity but arrived without cables or the necessary equipment. “She couldn’t do anything; she didn’t even have the tools,” a resident explained.
“We feel we are treated unfairly compared to those who use electricity illegally without paying,” another resident added.
This is a developing story. Globe Post awaits a response from City Power officials.
