As Soweto residents marched to the office of Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse last week to demand a more sustainable and consistent electricity supply, they did so against the backdrop of an area plagued by illegal connections and residents who can’t or won’t pay for power. Eskom says 50% of customers in Soweto are "zero buyers". Only 40% of the residents buy and pay for electricity, according to the parastatal. The embattled power utility said 85 563 of its 173 800 customers were illegally connected to the grid and did not pay for electricity. This despite many residents claiming they were willing to pay for electricity. Eskom Gauteng spokesperson Amanda Qithi said the outstanding debt for the township was more than R4.5-billion. Qithi said Eskom was dealing with an exponentially high number of failed mini-substations and transformers in Soweto.