Thursday, 18 July 2019: The Gauteng
Provincial Government and Eskom agreed to implement joint action to decisively
deal with the problems of ongoing disruptions in the supply of
electricity in a number of areas in the province.
The Gauteng Provincial
Government, led by the Special Advisor to the Premier on Service Delivery and
Political Management, Mr. Eric Mxolisi Xayiya, met with Eskom
top Management on 16 July to discuss the ongoing problems regarding the
increasing number of repeated equipment failures in some areas around Gauteng.
Eskom reported that there
are increasing incidences of illegal connections leading to
overloading which often result in failure of transformers and mini-substations.
This includes meter tampering, electricity theft and vandalism of infrastructure.
Increased equipment failure has a significant negative
impact on operations, finances and safety of employees and the public at large.
The Gauteng Government and
Eskom acknowledge that consumers who continue to pay for electricity cannot
continue to suffer due to the actions of those who are not
paying. Continued non-payment of electricity and illegal
connections harm the economy of the province and the country.
Attempts by Eskom to
restore power supply to areas that have experienced repeated failures due to
illegal connections and meter tampering are being hampered by violent
resistance in the affected communities. Eskom technicians are often denied
access to affected areas to conduct audits and necessary repairs to damaged
equipment.
The Gauteng Provincial
Government will enlist the support of law enforcement agencies to ensure that
Eskom restores electricity supply to legal and paying customers in all the
affected areas in the province. The police will act firmly and decisively
against anyone obstructing Eskom from carrying out its work. Eskom will
conduct audits and remove illegal connections, fix bypassed meters, issue
tamper fines and ultimately restore electricity supply to paying customers.
The Gauteng Government and Eskom will continue to engage
with councillors and stakeholders in all affected areas to address all matters
pertaining to the supply of electricity.
ENDS