According to Eskom, the theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure has risen to disastrous proportions.
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This continues to threaten essential services and the lives of residents across the Gauteng province.
The entity reported concerning levels of damage to its network such as transformers and substations, leading to prolonged outages to customers, including essential services.
On February 15, electricity supply to Rand Water in the City of Ekurhuleni was affected due to the vandalism of insulators at the Mapleton line, putting essential water supply at risk for the residents of Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Lesedi, Govan Mbeki and Thembisile Hani Local Municipalities.
The vandalism and theft have extended to include pylons for which tower members are often stolen by unscrupulous criminal elements, resulting in the steel structures collapsing and posing extreme danger to members of the public.
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“The vandalism and theft of infrastructure also come at a great financial loss to the power utility, which is forced to replace the same at significant and unsustainable costs, further threatening its liquidity and mandate to provide electricity,” Eskom said in a statement.
A partnership with the public, among others, can serve a critical role in fighting the scourge of such criminal practices where community members become the eyes and ears of the electricity supplier.
The power utility has appealed to residents to partner with it in reducing electricity-related criminal activities by reporting illegal connections, theft, and vandalism of electricity infrastructure to the Eskom crime line on 0800 112 722.
