Ongoing power woes
ALLEGED illegal electricity connections and overloading has left hundreds of Ward 5 residents in uMfolozi Municipality in the dark.
This after a transformer exploded in December, forcing Eskom to institute an audit - a process that has left residents without electricity supply for the past three months as they await the replacement of the critical equipment.
This despite residents collecting more than R80 000 to pay Eskom penalties and have their power restored.
“We had load-shedding on 4 December and when the power was meant to be restored, it never returned.
“The issue was reported to Eskom and we were subsequently told that the transformer had exploded and would not be replaced due to illegal connections,” said one resident, who did not want to be named.
According to the power utility, before any transformer that is damaged due to overloading is repaired or replaced, Eskom will follow a strict process of electricity audits. This is done to avoid repeated damage to equipment and the electricity network.
The audit process includes removal of illegal connections, disconnecting bypassed meters and issuing of fines for contraventions.
While engagements are still ongoing in hopes to find a speedy resolution, residents who say they had been diligently paying their electricity bills are now forced to ride the wave with the entire community.
“We resolved in a community meeting that we would assist with resolving the contravention issue, and to encourage every household to come forward and pay their fines or bring their accounts up to date.
“We managed to pay around R82 000 and some of us have even gone as far as paying extra to fast track the process but we are still waiting for a new transformer,” said another resident.
Ward Councillor Mthoko Nxumalo said he has been in constant communication with Eskom on the matter.
“There are more than a hundred households that are affected. There are actually two transformers that need replacing.
“The biggest challenge, which is consistently raised by Eskom during engagements, is the overloading of the network and high number of illegal connections,” said Nxumalo.
He has, together with other residents, raised concerns with the increased levels of crime as criminals take advantage of the situation.