Illegal connections keep Orange Farm residents in the dark
More than 700 households in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, are still without power after the grid was collapsed by illegal connections last week.
The power supply interruption is said to have occurred when the transformer was overloaded by community members who bypass their meters, illegally connect themselves to the network.
Eskom technicians were dispatched to restore the power supply but had a run-in with some of the residents.
The power utility's Motlhabane Ramashi says in a second incident on Thursday, Eskom staff were held hostage while responding to a fault in the area.
“Eskom dispatched technicians to restore supply only to be obstructed by the illegal operators in the form of retaliation from a large number of the community members. Eskom was left with no option but to suspend the operation and safely evacuate its staff.
“Obviously Eskom is not going to restore supply. It will remain off until such time as we can sit, have a conversation with the community and agree on the correct process to follow in line with the City of Johannesburg and some of the community members.”
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Earlier in the month, the department confirmed that 41 suspects had been arrested for cases relating to the burglaries and the torching of schools. The department's spokesperson Steve Mabona says another five suspects have been arrested for separate burglaries at schools in Katlehong and Sebokeng.
Ramashi says technicians will not return to Orange Farm until it is deemed safe.
“We need to first audit to check the damage to our infrastructure before repairs.
“But we agreed with the city and community members from Orange Farm that we would resume restoration of supply as soon as the area is deemed safe.”