Businessman accused of stealing electricity

A wealthy Eastern Cape businessman has allegedly been using “Izinyoka”, illegal electricity connections, to light up three of his East London businesses.

Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) spokesman Sibusiso Cindi said Michael Osner, who owns a pizza store and two popular pub and grub businesses in Nahoon and Abbotsford, had allegedly been stealing electricity from the metro for the past two years.

Osner, who is the director of the Kat Leisure Hotel Group, denied yesterday that he had illegal electricity connections at any of the businesses, saying he suspected that if the Abbotsford Arms had illegal connections, “it must have been from the previous tenant”.

Last week, when BCM electricity and energy services revenue protection specialists raided the Nahoon Arms Pub and Grub in Beach Road, Abbotsford Arms Pub and Grub, and Pedro’s Pizza also in Abottsford, they discovered illegally connected wires.

“On inspection and testing of these installations, the electrician found a number of internal circuits that should have been metered had been bypassed, providing the businesses with ‘free’ electricity on those circuits,” Cindi said.

“After analysing the consumption and prepayment purchasing patterns, the results indicate the meters have been bypassed from the date that these businesses started their operations.”

The power at the businesses has been disconnected so the circuits can be reconnected to the meter.

Yesterday, Pedro’s Pizza was still without electricity, while the main switch at the Nahoon Arms tripped at regular intervals.

“All stolen consumption will be calculated and they [the businesses] will have to repay BCM for this consumption,” Cindi said.

“The owner will also have to pay a metertampering fee of R11 175 or 20% of monthly consumption and a disconnection fee of R612.

“He will also have to pay R10 375 for upgrading at the businesses to automated meter reading and must provide BCM with an electrical certificate of compliance for each installation.”