Power utility, City Power, has issued a fresh warning to residents of informal settlements about the dangers of illegal electricity connections. This comes after a man had been electrocuted at the Princess informal settlement in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, on Tuesday.
It’s believed the man had been walking through an open veld that’s littered with wires used to connect to the power grid illegally.
He allegedly tripped over the live wires and was declared dead on the scene by paramedics.
City Power Spokesperson Isaac Mangena says illegal connections are behind the recent power outages.
“Informal settlements are one of the many hotspots identified by City Power where there is a problem of illegal connections. This is really affecting paying customers who are nearby. Illegal connections are really causing overloading of the network and that is why in recent days we have seen so many outages. But also it is costing us as the city loss of revenue.”
Last year, Eskom also said it will continue to clamp down on illegal connections in residential estates, which result in a huge financial loss for the utility.
The power utility clamps down on illegal connections in Diepsloot:
Eskom said one resident will be expected to pay an electricity bill of more than R800 000, after not accounting for their electricity consumption.
Following previous meter audits conducted in residential estates in Waterfall, the power utility in Gauteng visited the area to assess connectivity.
Forming part of the utility’s energy management campaign, aimed at curbing financial losses, Eskom stated last year that the impact on electricity was mostly caused by illegal connections, meter bypasses, and the haphazard use of energy in homes.
