Eskom is planning an education drive to educate consumers on issues impacting the national power grid.
It will focus on illegal connections, the load reduction drive and other issues impacting the national power grid such as infrastructure theft, meter tampering and illegal vending, Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said.
The drive will start in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, especially where electricity theft through illegal connections and network overloading were rife.
Mantshantsha said Eskom had implemented load reduction, which was unlike loadshedding, since mid-May.
“This is not due to a shortage of electricity generation capacity.”
Eskom distribution division group executive Monde Bala said: “Loadshedding is when the national grid is constrained and there isn’t sufficient capacity to generate electricity.
“Eskom then announces which stage of loadshedding it will be implementing across the country to ration electricity and protect the integrity of the national grid.”
Bala further explained load reduction was when Eskom switched off power to localised areas where illegal connections caused an overload and could damage infrastructure as a result.
“Illegal connections are a crime, theft of electricity and interference with Eskom’s infrastructure.”
Bala said their objective with load reduction was to protect infrastructure by reducing electricity usage during peak times, when most damage was said to occur, and manage the impact of transformers and mini-substations in the affected area.
“Once a transformer or mini-substation is overloaded, it explodes and as a result that entire area will be out of power.
“When a transformer explodes, it cannot be fixed – it has to be replaced and replacing a transformer can cost anywhere between R80 000 to R100 00,” he said.
Despite the multi-billion rand bill the power utility was faced with for the annual replacements, their main concern was said to be the danger illegal connections posed to communities and death and damage to property.
“The excessive usage of electricity resulting from the illegal connections overloads the transformers, causing explosions that result in prolonged unplanned outages that can last for many days and leave all homes, traffic lights and businesses in the area without power.”
Another key component of the education drive was said to be addressing the issue of non-payment.
“In the Eskom customer base alone, some 1.7 million customers out of a total of 6,6 million are not paying for electricity consumed.
“Add to this the municipal debt of R30,9-billion and it leaves Eskom in a precarious financial position,” the power utility said.
“Eskom urges everyone to pay for the electricity they use, and to not engage in illegal connections – your behaviour could cost you your life or someone else’s.”
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