Illegal electricity connection, KwaNositha residents in the dark
To ensure the integrity of the network and the safety of the public in the event where Eskom’s assets are damaged or vandalised due to illegal connections, Eskom will only replace the transformer once the illegal connections have been removed.
KwaNositha Ray Nkonyeni Ward 27, EmaGogogweni residents who are paying for electricity have been in the dark for five weeks, after being cut off due to illegal connections in the area.
Dawood Akoon, a concerned member of the community said the elderly on chronic medication are suffering as their medications stored in fridges are getting spoilt, and business owners who pay for their electricity have had to bear the brunt as they are sending employees home and closing their businesses.
“I do not understand why paying customers of Eskom are suffering because of a minority who are robbing the system,”Akoon said.
He said a majority of the households in KwaNositha are buying electricity vouchers for meter boxes which were installed by a contractor assigned by Eskom, and yet they are told they cannot be assisted because their meters are not registered.
“How can Eskom send a contractor to install meters and not have them registered. Whose fault is that?” Akoon questioned.
He said he understands that Eskom is losing revenue as a result of Izinyokanyoka, however fails to understand why it is not meeting with the community and working with them to identify the ‘rotten apples’.
“We called a meeting with Eskom management on the lower South Coast and raised our concerns. In response we were told that they will only attend to the matter after our transformer blows. Is that how Eskom works?” he questioned further.
The Herald visited some residents in the area on Monday last week and found some have resorted to making their own stoves to cook, and are also using generators which are costly to run.
Sifiso Dlamini said he uses a generator for about two hours every day and 30 litres of petrol a week.
“We are suffering. In a week I spend almost R700 on petrol just to have lights and to charge my phone. If a household of two spends so much, how much are bigger families spending?” Dlamini questioned.
The residents said they cannot wait for the transformer to blow, to get the attention of Eskom. They have even opted to purchase a transformer at their cost.
When asked why the paying residents have to bear the brunt, Eskom spokesperson, Joyce Zingoni said it is generally impossible to leave the power on for individual customers when the electricity is switched off at a feeder.
“The Eskom network is configured in such a way that it is not always possible to disconnect only those customers that are not paying for electricity,” she added.
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