The Speaker of Joburg Council, Cllr Margaret Arnolds, led a successful oversight visit to Tshepisong in ward 128 and part of ward 50 – following engagements with residents who raised persistent concerns about prolonged electricity outages, non-functional transformers and delayed fault responses. These ongoing challenges continue to negatively affect households, schools, businesses and other essential services in the area.
The oversight visit brought together representatives from the Office of the Speaker, ward 128 Cllr McDonald Galeshewe, ward 50 Cllr Bheki Mgaga, the Regional Director for Region C, Mr Mlamleli Belot, Community Relationship and Urban Management (CRUM) officials, City Power representatives, community leaders and residents. The purpose of the visit was to assess the condition of the electricity network, strengthen accountability and identify practical interventions that will restore a safe, reliable and sustainable electricity supply to the community.
During the engagement, City Power presented a detailed overview of the electricity network serving Tshepisong and outlined the factors contributing to the area’s persistent electricity supply challenges. The utility confirmed that parts of Tshepisong receive electricity through City Power infrastructure supplied via the Eskom network. Although the network was originally designed to operate on five feeder lines, only three were initially available. To improve network capacity, City Power later introduced an additional feeder, Line D. Despite these interventions, the network continues to operate under severe strain as electricity demand has grown far beyond its original design capacity.
City Power further explained that widespread illegal electricity connections, meter bypassing, cable tampering and the unlawful reconnection of electricity infrastructure continue to overload the network. These activities have resulted in repeated transformer failures, equipment damage and prolonged electricity interruptions. They also undermine infrastructure investments and expose residents to serious safety risks, including electrocution, fires and extensive damage to public infrastructure.
Addressing residents, Cllr Arnolds called on the community to take greater responsibility in protecting public infrastructure and assisting law enforcement in combating illegal electricity connections.
“I blame the community for these illegal connections because surely you know who is responsible. You should protect your electricity poles and distribution boxes because they are in your community. It cannot help to continue raising the same complaints while illegal activities continue unreported,” she said.
Cllr Arnolds also urged residents to purchase electricity legally, stressing that revenue generated from electricity sales is essential for maintaining and upgrading the network. She committed to returning to the area to focus specifically on addressing illegal electricity connections and working with the community to find lasting solutions.
Tshepisong remains one of the most challenging areas on City Power’s electricity network. The area has more than 12,000 electricity customers, yet electricity purchases remain critically low. Approximately 97% of customers do not purchase electricity legally, while only about 3% buy electricity through authorised vending channels.
The City of Johannesburg remains committed to ongoing engagement with the Tshepisong community as part of its efforts to restore sustainable, reliable and safe electricity services. Through continued collaboration between residents, community leaders and City entities, the City believes lasting solutions can be achieved for the benefit of all.
Issued by the City of Johannesburg
