Residents of Riverpark community in Alexandra, are relieved to have electricity supply restored, effective from Tuesday, 03 June 2025.
This decision to restore power to the area, follows a meeting with community leaders and City Power.
Electricity was disconnected on 29 May 2025, following a confrontation with residents during a scheduled meter audit and disconnection operation.
Tshifularo Mashava, CEO of City Power, said the safety of staff was severely compromised, with incidents of intimidation, road blockades, and attempts to hold personnel hostage, forcing City Power to cut off supply.
“While we condemn the unlawful behaviour witnessed during the operation, we acknowledge the importance of constructive dialogue and have resolved to give law-abiding residents a fair opportunity to engage.”
Once power is restored, City Power teams will re-enter the area to conduct a full audit of electricity meters, including disconnection of individual households found to have tampered with or illegally bypassed meters.
In addition, customers who were previously disconnected will have to folk out about R2000, towards electricity purchases as part of the reconnection process, to recoup outstanding service costs.
Mashava said the R2000 should not be paid to any individual but instead, should go towards buying electricity units from authorised vendors.
Picture: Peter Rich Architecture