Staff Reporter.
Johannesburg power utility City Power says that it had to abandoned its cut-off operation in Lenasia after some of its team members were held hostage.
On Friday, three technicians were held hostage soon after the team disconnected Lens Station Shopping Complex, which has an outstanding bill of more than R3 million, said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.
He said a group of people arrived shouting insults and threats of violence before they held the technicians hostage, but eventually let them go.
Mangena said the Johannesburg Metro Police Department advised the power to abandon proceeding with the operation because it was increasingly clear the safety of the technicians could not be guaranteed.
He said Lenasia was one of the communities plagued by vandalism and theft, resulting in high costs of repairs and material replacement for City Power.
“While we appreciate some strides made towards the protection of our infrastructure by the community, the high rate of non-payment of services is also crippling our resources,” Mangena said.
Mangena said the number of businesses in the community, which are either illegally connected to their network, defaulted on their payments or have bypassed meters, was worrying.
He urged communities and businesses to pay for electricity, advising them to update their accounts and make payment arrangements if they were in arrears.
The power utility has been embarking on the electricity cut-off operations for months, with the intention to recover money owed to the city by residents and businesses.