Illegal connections to blame for extended power cuts, says Eskom in Gauteng
Eskom in Gauteng has blamed illegal connections for the delay in restoring power supply to various areas in the province.
The entity says an overloaded network in high density areas leads to a high failure rate at mini-substations and transformers.
Eskom’s explanation comes as areas such as Mapetla, Molapo and Orlando West in Soweto experience continuous power cuts in between load shedding.
The utility’s Mashangu Xivambu says the network overloading is caused by illegal connections, meter bypassing and unauthorised operations on the network.
"Eskom has to date successfully replaced and repaired 116 out of 181 of the damaged mini-substations and 1326 out of 2314 transformers to the substantial total cost of R152 million.
“However, the utility remains faced with high demands of equipment that require repairs or replacement, making it difficult to meet the demand.”
Xivambu says community protests and resultant road closures also add to the delays.
“Access to our offices is often blockaded, employees are sometimes assaulted, intimidated and in extreme situations, held hostage by some of the community members. This harassment and intimidation is also being experienced by our employees while driving and operating in the field across the province.”
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