Millions lost to illegal electricity connections in KwaDukuza
Eskom said they have experienced a significant increase in transformer failures in residential areas because of meter tampering, illegal connections and infrastructure vandalism.
Electricity theft through illegal connections is a major contributor to ongoing power shortages in KwaDukuza.
The KwaDukuza municipality and Eskom are losing millions of rands a month because of this.
Illegal connections also have a profound negative impact on paying residents.
Neighbouring Sarasvati Primary School in Frasers under eThekweni Metro, for example, has been struggling with the effects of illegal electricity connections for the past 11 months as transformer overloads cause malfunctions.
This has left the school without electricity and water, forcing them to bear the high expense of generator fuel and gas.
The school relies on a borehole for water, but it is unusable without electricity.
According to community members, the problems began when a transformer blew because of the many illegal connections.
They say Eskom asked them to remove the illegal connections first because despite repeated repairs the problem persists.
Eskom told the Courier they are experiencing a significant increase in transformer failures in residential areas because of meter tampering, illegal connections and infrastructure vandalism.
The power utility said before replacing the transformer and restoring supply, they need to conduct an audit and normalise the network. Community members found to have tampered with the metering installation will be fined, and illegal connections removed.
The KwaDukuza municipality experiences average losses of R20-million per month due to electricity theft and related activities, posing a risk to its ability to deliver crucial services.
The municipality on average buys 55 gigawatt hours (GWh) at R70-million per month but only sells 44GWh, a loss of 11GWh.
Mayor Lindile Nhaca has urged residents to stop stealing electricity.
She emphasised that this practice has severe repercussions, leading to financial instability and delayed services, ultimately impacting the entire community.
In case of an illegal connection, disconnection and reconnection fees as determined by the municipal council are recouped through adding the costs to residents’ accounts.
Any municipal official or contractor may at all reasonable times enter any premises where services are supplied by the municipality to inspect the electricity meter, wires, or any apparatus used for the supply of services belonging to the municipality. If owners fail to allow access to the property on three consecutive occasions, the electricity will be disconnected without notice.
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