Covid-19: Eskom concerned over increased theft and vandalism of network
Eskom is concerned about increased theft of their networks during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Power utility Eskom said they are aware of the increasing cases of theft and vandalism to their network in the province of Gauteng which has resulted in a number of power interruptions.
In a statement released on 3 April, Eskom said this is even more concerning because of the 21-day lockdown to flatten the curve of Covid-19 cases.
Motlhabane Ramashi, senior manager for operations and maintenance in the Gauteng operating unit, said, “The theft and vandalism of the network and equipment do not only result in outages that cause an inconvenience to the public but also have a significantly negative impact on our operations and efforts to provide the much-needed service to essential service and residents.”
Eskom is working with law enforcement to contain the criminality, Ramashi added, “We call upon members of the community to take ownership of the electricity network infrastructure by safeguarding it and reporting any crimes including illegal connections and meter-bypasses by calling the Eskom contact centre number on 0860 037 566 or the crime line number 0800 112 722.”
* Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
