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Meter.
More households in Tekwane, southeast of the City of Mbombela, in Mpumalanga have tempered electricity meters. This was discovered by the power utility Eskom after it embarked on electricity meter audit in Tekwane. Illegal connections were immediately cut-off, transformers removed, and homeowners fined.
The community was plunged into darkness, after Eskom employees removed electricity transformers. 90 of 118 households audited were found to have tempered with their meters. But community members mobilized and attacked Eskom employees.
“We are not saying Eskom cannot come and do their auditing. We are saying not everyone can afford the electricity, so them coming here there should be protocol, they must involve the community and say this is how it’s going to go. Not them coming here and disposing everything. So now we have an issue where everyone whether you are buying or not buying you are affected.”
“We are very angry about this happening here because we don’t have electricity. Some people are getting pension, but they don’t know how to buy electricity. So this is what is troubling us a lot. I don’t know what we going to do now,”
Energy experts have warned that if people continue with illegal electricity connections, it poses a threat to the already overstretched power grid.
A community member, Senzo Nyundu has confirmed that many consumers buy electricity tokens from unauthorised vendors.
SAPS members will continue to monitor developments in Tekwane South.
“Police were attacked while they were working with Eskom offering protection and no one has been arrested so far. But the police are still at Tekwane south monitoring the situation,” says Col Jabu Ndubane, Mpumalanga SAPS Spokesperson.
The audit will be extended to other areas to root out those who steal from the power utility.
