I had a heated debate about this when I used to work for eskom. Their electrification dept said I was being unfair for wanting electricity thieves to be arrested and their connections to be sent to the back of the queue. I was told that they are also customers and have been waiting long. My argument of law abiding citizens waiting long as well fell on deaf ears. So yeah, if you want power, steal it. Then if you get caught, demand a meter. Job done. If you've been waiting patiently, just wait longer. Its the African way.
My deceased uncle did this at a munic a couple of years ago. They switched off all prepaid meters in the location then put 3Ph 380v power on the single phase 230v line and popped just about everything that wasnt supposed to be on. Its a "clever" move, but a dangerous one at that. You never know what's connected to where.