Electricity thieves leave communities in the dark

THREE hundred households in Delft South are sitting in the dark as they wait for Eskom to resolve the area’s electricity issues allegedly caused by rampant illegal connections.

Delft South councillor Dineo Masiu said residents had begun to get anxious after spending several days without electricity due to persistent electricity thieves making illegal connections, damaging the electrical infrastructure.

“We’re battling with electricity issues in this community, unfortunately illegal connections are a big part of our struggles and we are struggling to stamp them out. They usually occur on the borders of existing communities and pieces of land that were recently invaded.

“Currently, hundreds of residents have been living without power because of these connections, and it’s not only that, we’ve had incidents of fires as well sparked from these makeshift points that are costing us, said Masiu.

“I can’t stress enough how important it is that as a community we all play a part in making sure our community does not suffer at the hands of a few individuals. Like Eskom, we’re also calling on people to report these connections.”

According to Eskom, Delft, along with Wallacedene, Blue Downs, Marikana in Philippi, Bardale, Mfuleni, Witsands, Du Noon and Atlantis, were among areas that are usually severely affected by illegal connections.

Recently Eskom technicians removed illegal connections in Philippi after receiving information that residents from the Siyanyanzela informal settlement had connected themselves to the Eskom network.

Eskom Cape Coastal Cluster general manager Alwie Lester said: “Eskom endeavours to engage with all the communities affected by the plague of infrastructure theft and vandalism. It cripples the community and leaves them vulnerable to crime. We’ve committed ourselves to have open and transparent communication between ourselves and local community leaders when it comes to power outages…”