Three suspects were arrested and a vehicle was impounded on Wednesday, 14 October in connection with the illegal possession of a stolen transformer in Video Town informal settlement, Muldersdrift.
The arrests follow a joint operation by Eskom, police and Red Ants who worked together to remove and dismantle illegal connections in the area.
According to a media release by Eskom, the suspects were charged in terms of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act 18 of 2015 with tampering with, damaging or destroying essential infrastructure.
Eskom also confirmed that a further four stolen transformers installed in the illegal network and supplying approximately 1 000 households, as well as aluminium cables were recovered during the operation.
The operation was part of the ongoing energy losses management campaign that was launched recently in Diepsloot.
The campaign is aimed at addressing the increasing risks associated with repeated equipment failure and network overloading, which cause transformer and mini-substation explosions.
Eskom is conducting proactive audits in various areas to safeguard the electricity infrastructure and curb energy losses.
“We remain committed to improving our operations continuously and optimise our plant performance through maintenance,” said Senior Manager for Maintenance and Operations in Gauteng, Motlhabane Ramashi.
Eskom in Gauteng has unfortunately seen a significant rise in public safety incidents, and according to them they are committed to containing and eliminating public safety incidents that result from illegal activities.
“We wish to urge communities to report illegal connections, illegal operations or any unsafe activities to the toll free Eskom crime reporting line on 0800 11 27 22,” concluded Ramashi.
