Eskom warns action against non-payment

PAY your electricity bill or face heavy consequences. This is the stern warning from Eskom KZN´s General Manager, Monde Bala, who said the utility is losing R5−billion annually in unpaid accounts and other forms of electricity theft. He warned all KZN customers, both residential and business, against non− payment of accounts. Eskom plans to `vigorously disconnect´ and remove installations of those customers who are not paying their bills. `Non−payment, meter tampering and illegal vending by our direct customers is causing Eskom to lose a lot of revenue,´ Bala said on Friday. `While illegal connections and other leading forms of electricity theft are common, non−payment has sharply increased and is taking root in many parts of the country.´ The utility has introduced technical meter auditing, supported by criminal investigations and prosecution by law−enforcement agencies. Bala said this new approach has uncovered much illegal activity including non−payment and illegal vending in the province. This led to the issuing of numerous disconnection orders, tamper fees, arrests and prosecutions. Eskom will soon offer residential pre−paid customers a 50% remedial fee as an incentive for customers to come forward to become clean and legal electricity users. This offer is given to customers whose meters have been tampered with, those who have not been paying for electricity, those who installed meters illegally and those who are buying illegal vouchers. It is running in the Free State, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, and will be implemented in other provinces, including KZN, in a phased approach. `For our province, should residential illegal electricity users not take up the offer and pay the discounted remedial fee of 50% during 14 January to 31 March, they will face heavy consequences that include disconnections, full debt payment, paying for new meters, possible arrests and prosecutions,´ said Bala.