Tampered meter boxes left neglected by City Power

A family living in Cypress Road has been forced to connect illegally to their electricity grid.

This follows after complaints regarding their tampered electricity box fell on deaf ears.

On 9 July Wynand and Bianca Gericke returned at night to their Ruimsig home to find it in darkness. Checking for problems, they eventually found that the casing of their meter box had been removed and the wiring was missing. When the Gerickes informed City Power they were told that a technician would be dispatched the next day.

Two weeks later, a technician arrived in an unmarked maroon Fiat Uno. After examining the damaged box, he claimed the Gericke’s had sabotaged the meter and refused to fix it. “But he said we can arrange something, we can talk,” said Wynand of the technician. “He was hinting for a bribe,” added Bianca, “although, he didn’t say it outright”.

Wynand asked his employee Jill Marais to speak to the contractor to sort out the problem legally but when she went outside, the contractor had vanished. Further calls to City Power, for which they have proof and recordings, led nowhere.

“The fact is we just don’t know what else to do,” said Marais. “We don’t know where to go, or who to speak to.”

Bianca said their home business was dependent on electricity for generating an income.

It seems as if the Gericke’s are not alone. Three other electricity boxes in the street have been damaged at some stage and had wiring stolen, and it seems unlikely that residents of an affluent area would conspire to sabotage their own meter boxes.

Roodepoort Northsider approached City Power spokesperson Sol Masolo for comment. He has escalated the matter to the appropriate authorities and an official statement from City Power should follow.