JOHANNESBURG – Citypower says it will report senior managers in the planning department to police to hatch the electricity stealing scheme.
The senior manager in question owns a rental accommodation unit that includes approximately 8 rooms in the Hursthill area.
City Power spokesman Isaac Mangena said officials who were found to be tampering with electric meters “will also face internal disciplinary action as they continue to eradicate fraud and all forms of crime within the ranks.”
Mangena added: “This is part of our continued commitment to maintaining the highest standards and integrity and accountability within the organization,” he added.
Manjina narrated an event leading to the discovery of anomalies on Thursday (March 20, 2025) and said she visited employees “following routine audits and monitoring” of customer purchasing patterns.
He said in this case that audits and monitoring highlighted the troublesome habits of irregular electricity purchasing dating back to 2014, and that electricity may not be purchased for several months at a time.
“The recorded payments are sporadic, ranging from R500 to thousands of rands, and surprisingly this month, despite the facility having lights during our team's visit, no electricity was purchased at all,” Mangena said.
City Power conducts regular audits. This includes random home visits and system monitoring.
He said Thursday's city power raid was part of the executive mayor's rejuvenation programme that began in the inner city and spreads across Johannesburg.
Manjina said tampering with meters to avoid paying for electricity is common among rental property owners.
“We will strengthen our actions against this form of electrical theft,” Mangena warned.
Regarding senior management, Mangena said he would not only face internal actions and potential criminal charges, but also had to pay a large reconnection fee.
“This incident followed a recent investigation, where 15 employees conspired with service providers to deceive the city's powers and served as a notice of disciplinary action, contributing to a significant financial loss,” Mangena revealed.
He said the service providers involved were under investigation and their payments were frozen with pending finalisation of ongoing reviews.
“One of the employees related to fraud is currently facing criminal charges,” Mangena said.
“As part of our commitment to improving governance and tightening internal control, we are reinforcing our actions against ethical violations and all forms of crime that begin in our own backyard.”
Commenting on the issue, City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava said:
“Local government staff, including employees and councillors, must adhere to the same standards that we expect from our customers.
“Charities start at home, so we target city employees as the starting point for efforts to restore integrity and trust in our business.”
Mashaba warned employees in the city of Johannesburg that meter tampering and bypass instances could have serious consequences.
“We're quantifying the total losses that have occurred right now, which could be dozens or hundreds of thousands of rands,” Mashaba said.
“City power remains unshakable in its commitment to combat all forms of criminal activity, reducing economic losses and ensuring that the entity is restored to its financial stability, providing it to its customers to improve its overall service.
“We are urging our customers to continue paying for their electricity consumption and avoid stealing electricity.
“We will continue to take measures to strengthen governance and internal controls to protect the integrity of our community's interests and services.”
