Roodepoort man dies after tripping over illegal connection
An unidentified man died at Princess informal settlement in Roodepoort when he tripped over illegal electricity connections on Tuesday.
It is believed he walked through an open veld with illegally connected exposed live wires when he tripped on them and got electrocuted.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena says the power utility remains concerned by the continuous attempts by some Johannesburg residents to bypass the system.
“Princess informal settlement is one of the many hotspots in the city identified by City Power where the problem of illegal connections persists, affecting power supply to nearby customers.
“Illegal connections lead to overloading of the network causing frequent outages, as seen in other areas recently,” says Mangena.
He adds the illegal connections continue to bleed the power utility dry.
“Not only do illegal connections cost the City millions in lost revenue, but they are a danger to the residents, especially children.
“The city has about 219 informal settlement across, most of them with no electricity. For informal settlements to receive services they need to be proclaimed first by Department of Human Settlement.
“City Power will intensify the cut off of illegal connections across the city, while continuing with an education drive about the dangers of vandalism and illegal connections.”
According to Mangena, a budget of about R28 million has been approved for the Princess informal settlement to be electrified, alongside three other informal settlements this financial year.
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