Eskom tackles electricity theft
“Careful here, don’t come closer,” shouted Eskom’s communications and stakeholder management practitioner, Ntombifuthi Hlophe, as live cables lay on the ground.
The media were invited on a public safety tour on April 1, in the Ebumnandi, Chris Hani and Mkhalazenke informal settlements, where illegally connected electrical wires lined some of the paths.
The aim of the tour was to highlight the dangers associated with illegal connections, cable theft, low-hanging cables and meter tampering.
Daveyton has been identified as one of the areas in Gauteng with a high prevalence of illegal connections.
Eskom’s corporate occupational health and safety manager, Jace Naidoo, said that, while many residents receive their electricity legitimately, some still endanger their lives by opting for illegal connections, which often lead to serious and fatal injuries.
“An electricity connection is considered illegal when it is made to the Eskom network without Eskom’s permission,” said Naidoo.
“In many cases, illegal connections end up with dire consequences as they expose both children and adults to great risk.”
Naidoo added that such connections could either be to a mini sub-station, a neighbour’s meter or electricity board.
In May 2014, a child died in Daveyton due to illegal connections.
But still residents continue to commit this crime, said Hlophe.
“Our biggest challenge, as Eskom, is that we remove these illegal connections, but, immediately after we are done, they reconnect them again,” she said.
Hlophe said this is a deadly crime that robs Eskom of billions of Rand each year and has a negative impact on the country’s economic growth.
“One of our top priorities at Eskom is safety,” Naidoo said.
“As part of our commitment to ‘Zero Harm’, we would like to implore our communities to help us eliminate the unsafe use or connections of electricity.
“We want to avoid electricity-related injuries and fatalities in all our communities.”
Eskom’s visit to Daveyton is one part of its drives to work with communities towards a safer environment.
“We are appealing to people to be more cautious and to refrain from connecting electricity illegally,” said Naidoo.
“By remaining vigilant and acting responsibly, we can ensure that our loved ones and communities remain safe.”
Eskom encourages citizens to become more active in reporting exposed, damaged or low-hanging power cables, as well as illegal connections, to 086 003 7566.
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