'Entire Tshwane suburb not paying for electricity'
Residents of
an entire suburb in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, are not paying for their
electricity.
The power utility says a newly-built suburb called Stellenbosch, which comprises of more than 400 houses, has been connected to the power grid illegally.
Eskom briefed media on Thursday over persistent power problems in Tshwane.
According to Eskom, the stolen power costs the power utility at least R400 000 a month.
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Tshwane Zone Manager, Martin Pietersen, says the electricity infrastructure built in the area also does not comply with Eskom standards.
“They’ve electrified their houses but there are no meters. They illegally connected on our networks, where there is also no meter. The whole town doesn’t pay. It’s not like it is a poor area, there are people living in big houses.”
The utility says they are investigating the possibility that current or former Eskom employees might be involved in the illegal connections.
‘It could be part of Eskom employees. There is a high level of unemployment in the townships, and we have contractors that have worked with Eskom previously who are no longer on the payroll. Those are the people who have possibly formed these syndicates,” Eskom’s Customer Services Area Manager Mmatseko Mokgatla says.
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