Eskom warns political parties about placing posters on its infrastructure

With the elections a month away, Eskom has warned South Africa’s political parties not to place campaign posters on its electrical structures – including electricity poles, electricity towers, meter boxes and mini substations.

Election posters: Eskom warns of electrocutions

It said people have been electrocuted when putting up posters in the past. “Attaching posters to an electrical structure … puts the lives of your valuable employees, members of the public and volunteers at risk,” Eskom said.

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Eskom said that political parties are putting their employees and volunteers at risk of serious injury or death.

“Electricity is invisible to the naked eye and the risk is that when someone gets close to or touches them it may result in an inadvertent flash-over or electrical contact. This can cause serious injuries to the person or even be fatal,” Eskom said in a statement.

It added that only authorised personnel are allowed to climb or work on Eskom’s electrical structures.

Eskom said that Section 19 (5) of the Electrical Machinery Regulations states: “No person shall encroach in person or with objects on the minimum safety clearances required in terms of sub-regulation (1) or require or permit any other person to do so except by permission of the supplier or user operating the powerline.”

“Eskom cares about your safety and we request you to refrain from attaching posters to electrical structures to prevent injury or loss of lives,” the parastatal added.

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Metros set rules for election posters

The City of Cape Town and Ekurhuleni have also recently reminded parties of the rules regarding the placement of election posters.

The City of Cape Town said parties are only allowed to place one poster per street light. Also, posters cannot be placed on traffic lights, electrical boxes, road signs, walls, trees, rocks or natural features, or any other poles other than streetlight poles.

The City of Ekurhuleni said election posters can be placed on street lights, but must be done with a suitable cord rather than metal clamps or wire. The metro added that posters cannot be nailed to trees and need to be placed at least 50m from an intersection.

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