City Power Suspends Operations in Alexandra After Technician Is Assaulted, SA Outraged With Decision
- City Power Johannesburg has suspended operations in Alexandra after a technician was attacked
- The entity reported that an angry group damaged vehicles and assaulted a technician in the area
- Residents disputed the claims of an attack, while others said they shouldn't be punished for other's actions
Source: Getty Images
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has spent a decade reporting on the South African political landscape, crime and social issues. He spent 10 years working for a community newspaper before transitioning to online
GAUTENG – City Power has officially suspended services in Alexandra, but residents of the area are not happy with the decision.
The power utility announced that it would be suspending services effective immediately following an attack on one of its technicians. The technician was assaulted inside the Alexandra Service Delivery Centre on 18 February 2025.
City Power has often had issues in Alexandra, and on 5 November 2024, they had to subdue a Malawian national who resisted arrested after he was caught tampering with meters.
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City Power outraged by the attack
In an official media statement, City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said that they were saddened and outraged by the attack.
He explained that the technician was responding to a power outage that affected customers along 2nd and 7th Avenue when he was assaulted by angry residents.
“An angry mob stormed our gates, damaging vehicles and beating up the technician who was in the office at the time,” Mangena said.
City Power condemned the actions of the community, stating that effective immediately, they were suspending all services until further notice.
“No employees will be dispatched to work around Alexandra until law and order are restored and workers safety can be guaranteed,” he added.
Source: Getty Images
Inclement weather impacts City Power’s operations
With services suspended to Alex at the moment, City Power will now look to continue operations in other parts that have been severely impacted by the inclement weather. Heavy rainfall continues to batter Gauteng, with parts of Johannesburg already experiencing flooding and damage to infrastructure.
City Power is already working on restoring power to parts of Bezuidenhout Valley after a transformer substation caught fire on 18 February.
Alexandra remains of the problem areas for the utility, but it's not the only one. On 16 January 2025, City Power disconnected 120 Kliptown homes guilty of meter tampering.
Social media users unhappy with City Power’s decision
The utility’s decision to halt services in the area hasn’t sat well with residents. Some denied that a technician was attacked, while others stated that they shouldn’t be punished for the fault of others.
@serepa_vinolia said:
“What about the people that were not aware or even part of the protest? We are being punished for what exactly? We have been without electricity since yesterday Monday 4 am.”
Thamage Peter said:
“The community must point out the culprit if they want electricity. You can't suffer because of individuals with no brains.”
Melaney Delaney added:
“Cut all power to Alex. They will catch the attacker and bring him in.”
@dyxll_south stated:
“Restore Far East Bank. We didn't beat anyone up though😭.”
@intandoyabantu said:
“Another lie. If only City Power would do its job instead of spreading lies about the actions of residents of Alexandra. We have an outage now of almost 48 hours.”
@luckykhumalo08 said:
“I am fully aware of the hatred City Power has against the people staying between 2nd and 8th Avenue, but to lie about being attacked is totally ridiculous.”
@Gomo03 added:
“City Power is collectively punishing an entire community for the actions of a few and holding us ransom for people we don’t even know. I am always amazed by how incredibly stupid South African government entities are. Never any justifiable rationale, just emotional responses and vibes🙄.”
Angry residents confront police, City Police officials
Briefly News reported that residents of Kliptown Square were unhappy with City Power for trying to disconnect illegal connections.
Community members resorted to burning tyres and rubbish, while attempting to stop officials from doing their jobs on 2 January 2025.
South Africans bashed community members for their behaviour, as residents were seen getting aggressive with police officers.
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Source: Briefly News
