17/02/2026
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By Boitumelo Shuping
CENTLEC's 60-day general amnesty on illegal electricity connections, meter tampering and unauthorised meter shifts came into effect on 9 February 2026, opening a limited window for residents to regularise their electricity supply without facing prosecution or financial penalties.
Publicly framed as relief for consumers, the amnesty also functions as a revenue recovery and compliance strategy for the electricity utility.
According to acting CENTLEC spokesperson Tsheliso Leba, the initiative enables the utility to update its asset register, reduce technical losses and recover revenue that would otherwise remain unrecoverable."By allowing consumers to self-correct, we achieve compliance at a fraction of the cost of enforcement," Leba said.
He said normalised connections are moved onto legal metering and billing systems, allowing previously unaccounted for electricity consumption to generate ongoing revenue, while also improving network integrity and reducing outages linked to unsafe installations.
Residents who complete both the declaration and normalisation process during the amnesty period qualify for a full waiver of tampering fines and are protected from prosecution for past electricity theft related to the declaration, in line with municipal and legislative frameworks approved by council.
CENTLEC says it is working with ward councillors and community-based organisations to communicate the amnesty's terms and has established help desks to assist residents through the application process as the 60-day window continues.
