City of Tshwane urges illegal electricity, water users to apply for amnesty

City of Tshwane residents who have tampered with their electricity and water meters have just over a month to come forward or face fines of up to R200,000 per household.

Finance political head Peter Sutton said the amnesty period which started at the beginning of the month is valid until September 30 for consumers who have connected illegally to the metro's electricity and water network. 

He said the purpose of the amnesty period was to assist both residents and business owners who were guilty of illegally benefiting from these services without paying. This included those stealing electricity and water, paying bribes to remove outstanding amounts on accounts and also paying bribes to illegally open a new municipal account without following the official process.

"Residents are reminded that fines for illegal connections and electricity theft is R200,000 for individual and household accounts and R10m for business accounts. In addition to these fines, the city will also lay criminal charges and pursue the recovery of lost income. A highly skilled multidisciplinary revenue-collection team has been established for this purpose," Sutton said.

The City of Tshwane follows in the footsteps of municipalities such as Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape.

During the 2021/2022 financial year, the metro embarked on a 90-day amnesty period after the municipality lost R558.6m in revenue due to faulty electricity meters, illegal connections, theft and meter-tampering.

Sutton said in the case of amnesty being granted, the metering would be corrected and the account holder would start paying for services correctly from the date the amnesty was granted.

"The tampering and illegal connection fine will be waived and no criminal charges will be levied against the person or company granted amnesty."