Electrical tampering crisis in the township

Daniel Mkhwanazi

by Daniel Mkhwanazi

The electricity crisis in the townships has been ongoing for so long that it has led Eskom to take accountability for those who bypass the electricity system.

Illegal connections have been a very problematic case when talking about the electricity crisis in the townships, which Eskom has to take accountability for those who are not paying up their electrical bills, and it’s been long overdue that people do not take accountability for their electrical billing.

Such has reduced economic growth to be reduced by almost 3% in the past two years, and it also impacts the jobs of people and a lot more on the production process of companies to work effectively.

One of the community members who wanted to remain anonymous said that the issue of electricity system is a sad thing for him in a way that firstly electricity bill is very expensive yet again the tariffs are very small, hence he gets annoyed by load reductions and which is why he decided to tamper with the meter boxes and some of the residents also had done the same thing for over a decade.

Mr. Motloung, who is aged 46 yet lives with his family, is one of the residents who lives in the informal settlements of Snake Park, Block 11. He has been somehow trying to survive in the shack with his family without proper electricity yet he went on to say he can’t be paying for the electrical bills which sometimes it has faults, so the reason being that they have tampered with the electrical power is also that most residents living there nearby the rock mountain don’t necessarily have affordability to pay Eskom and also they don’t have access to proper shelter or either housing authority, which makes it quite difficult for them to pay for electricity and other prior bills.

So, Eskom had to announce that if a household is found to be found with a tampered electricity meter, has to be found guilty and will have to compensate for their electrical billing and will have to conduct an investigation of knowing that the person has been paying up accordingly. This has made people who have tampered with the electricity meter go to their local Eskom offices to their newly installed meter boxes system, and those who have not been able to pay their electric bills will be penalized for their actions.

The issue of the electricity crisis is such a problematic factor in most townships, but what I think needs to be done is that the energy sector needs to reduce its tariffs and make sustainable energy development.