Two households in Zola 2 have felt the wrath of Eskom after they were found guilty of tampering with electricity meters according to a spokesperson for the parastatal.
Daily life has been a challenge for Sindiswa Dlamini from Zola 2 since January after the electricity in the household stopped working.
“We saw an Eskom car in January being escorted by police vehicles and we were wondering what might be wrong this time around.
“The following day we didn’t have any electricity neither did our neighbours.
“The sad part is that we have been paying our account and on the day, there wasn’t any sight of damage or anything exploding.
Dlamini approached the councillor on her problem and was assisted to escalate the matter and find a solution.
“We logged a call and got a reference number and then we were told that someone would come to assess the problem.
“Indeed a technician came and concluded that there was a problem with the box and he said they would come back to address the problem.
“Since that day, we have never received any communication and we have been left in the dark.
“We don’t know what to do anymore to get help, we have to use a paraffin stove every day and there are certain things I cannot cook with the stove.
“We spend hours preparing every morning because we don’t have any electricity and the worst part is that we have a toddler in the household so using paraffin puts us in a health and safety risk, all we plead for is to have our electricity back,” said Dlamini.
Eskom was consulted on the matter and in her response, Eskom Soweto spokesperson Innocentia Zabala said: “Please note that customers from these two houses tampered with Eskom’s meters; as a result, the service cables burnt out.
“Both customers will be issued with tamper fines amounting to R6 000 each for the first tamper, or R12 000 each for the second tamper penalty.
A tamper fine is a money that is charged to clients for either damaging or tampering with Eskom property.
“The customers will have to pay the tamper fines before they can be reconnected,” said Zabala. “Residents are urged to be vigilant of any tampering of Eskom’s property to avoid an incident like this taking place,” said Zabala.
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