A resident in Zola was seen last week tempering with an electrical box outside a house and after consultation with Eskom, the parastatal warned against the behaviour.
The illegal connections that residents do in order to gain access to electricity ends up costing Eskom, other residents and the local municipality.
“The biggest problems faced by Eskom and local municipalities is cable theft and illegal connections and Eskom is working with the police to bring an end to this problem.
“Any resident that is found tempering with an electrical box or connecting electricity runs the risk of facing legal consequences.
“When you are found stealing a cable or connecting electricity illegally, Eskom will disconnect all electricity from that household and the perpetrator will be fined R5 000 before they can get electricity reconnected.
“Illegal connections and cable theft cost both Eskom and municipality around R2 billion a year so we plead with the community to report any illegal activities because at the end of the day the community suffers from these illegal activities,” said Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe.
