Eskom technicians were in Diepsloot on Tuesday morning to remove illegal electricity connections.
Eskom technicians, along with the Red Ants and police, cut illegal power connections in Diepsloot on 29 September 2020. Picture: @JoburgMPD/Twitter
JOHANNESBURG – Eskom technicians were in Diepsloot on Tuesday morning to remove illegal electricity connections.
The utility’s officials joined police officers and the Red Ants in prayer shortly before venturing into the township.
Eskom said that it was trying to clamp down on people siphoning power from the grid as it battled to keep up with demand.
Spokesperson Reneilwe Semenya said that while cutting connections was not a long-term solution, something had to be done.
“Unfortunately, in those instances where illegal connections are happening, they have a huge burden not only on Eskom infrastructure but infrastructure in general. If you look at the water, sewer and other services that are being provided by other municipalities and service providers, they are being hugely impacted as a result of this.”
In recent months, the utility has been implementing so-called load reduction in parts of Gauteng to avoid network overloading in high-density areas.
The power company has been deliberately cutting power to thousands of people between 5am and 9am as part of this load reduction timetable.
GALLERY: Eskom removes illegal power connections in Diepsloot
