Electricity theft and vandalism
Every year, Eskom experiences millions of rands in damages due to infrastructure vandalism and theft. Total non-technical related energy losses in Eskom are relatively high and this trend is increasing annually. Some Eskom customers use electricity but fail to pay for usage, which results in loss of revenue to the company.
Issued related to non-technical energy losses:
Illegal connections which cause overloading of the network, and result in unplanned outages when transformers or mini substations overheat or explode. An illegal connection is an electrical connection made to the electricity network to avoid payment for electricity, i.e. the network is tapped into without installing a meter and without the permission of the owner of the network such as Eskom or the municipality. This is illegal because the connection is made without entering into a service contract with Eskom or a municipality.
Buying from ghost vendors is on its own a criminal offence for both buyer and the seller. Ghost vendors use legitimate Eskom devices to illegally distribute electricity vouchers and pocket the money. Those found using illegal prepaid electricity vouchers can face disconnection, fines and even legal prosecution. Please do not buy electricity from ghost vendors and report these illegal vendors to Eskom or your local municipality. Why make criminals rich? Rather buy legally so that Eskom and the municipalities can use that money to keep your electricity network working and do upgrades when necessary.
Meter tampering or bypassing which is when the customer tampers with the electricity meter so that it stops working completely or does not register all the electricity usage in the house or business. An electricity meter is used to measure the amount of electricity supplied to a residential or commercial building. Meter tampering or bypassing is when the customer makes the meter to either stop functioning, under-register or even not to register at all how much electricity your house/building consumes. This is usually done by people to avoid paying for the electricity that they use. This is theft and people found guilty can be prosecuted and face massive fines.
Cable Theft and Vandalism of electricity infrastructure such as sub stations and transformers which tend to result in loss of electricity in the communities. The effects of vandalism and theft are costly damages to essential infrastructure in the country and to the economy. Eskom encourages the public to form active partnerships and to engage in social community crime prevention and awareness programmes focused on protecting critical infrastructure against theft and vandalism and to improve the quality of life in communities.
The excessive usage of electricity resulting from the illegal connections overloads the transformers, causing explosions that result in prolonged unplanned outages that can last for many days and leave all homes, traffic lights and businesses in the area without power. Unfortunately, this also negatively affects even those customers who do pay for their electricity consumption. At most, this leaves Eskom with no choice but to implement load reduction for a few hours a day in the affected areas, to protect the transformers and ensure continuous supply of electricity.
Pay for the electricity you use every day. Tampering with electricity meter is not only illegal, but it could also endanger the lives of families and cause damage to homes if a fire should break out. If somebody offers to make change on your meter and asks for payment, then you should know it is illegal. Pay and be legal.
Report illegal connections, vandalism, equipment theft and illegal vendors to the SAPS, municipality or Eskom on 0800 11 2722.
