No electricity until 80% of residents start paying.

City Power says it won’t turn the lights back on for some Alexandra residents on 9th and 10th avenues until 80% of customers start paying for electricity.

After an outage caused by burnt jumpers and breakers at City Power’s mini substation left some residents on 9th and 10th avenues along Reverend Sam Buti Street in the dark, the utility said it will not restore supply or conduct repairs until smart meters are installed in the area.

“At this stage, 0% of the customers in the area are paying for electricity, according to the latest audit report. In line with the directive issued earlier this year, we will not be restoring supply until at least 80% of customers start vending,” said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

The utility suspects the damage may have been caused by tampering with infrastructure. It further stressed that illegal connections and meter bypassing remain among the biggest challenges it is grappling with. “A lot of outages caused by damaged infrastructure are often the result of illegal connections and bypassing,” Mangena added.

He said City Power has made efforts to engage with community members through councillors, community leaders, and representatives to explain the purpose of the normalisation programme and the benefits of smart metering. The aim is to help residents understand the risks and consequences associated with illegal connections, especially as electricity theft in Alexandra and surrounding areas has reached concerning levels.

Mangena warned that these practices not only overload the network and damage equipment but also pose serious risks of electrocution and fires. “Frequent equipment failures caused by tampering have left paying customers and nearby businesses without power for extended periods, disrupting livelihoods and economic activity.”

According to Mangena, Illegal connections and bypassing, which allow customers to use electricity without paying, have a significant financial impact on the utility’s operations.

“Revenue losses undermine the utility’s ability to maintain and upgrade critical infrastructure, respond quickly to faults, and invest in improved service delivery,” he said. “Every illegal connection takes resources away from legitimate customers and slows down the broader goal of stabilising and modernising the electricity network.”

For affected residents, darkness will remain until the utility installs smart meters and at least 80% of customers begin vending. City Power is set to continue its normalisation process in the area on Wednesday.