Over 400 electricity transformers damaged since January: Eskom

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Eskom says it has replaced over 400 electricity transformers damaged by network overloading since January this year.  This comes as firefighters battled a blaze at an Eskom substation in Zola in Soweto this morning.

This has left a dozen areas without electricity and it is not clear yet when power will be restored.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

Eskom Spokesperson Aubrey Sambo has urged customers to report illegal electricity connections.

“Electricity theft is wide-ranging and includes illegal connections, network equipment theft, vandalism, meter bypasses and tampering, unauthorised network operations and purchasing electricity from illegal vendors. Overloaded transformers as a result of electricity theft present a serious risk to human life. The time, funds and manpower used to replace these transformers could have been utilised to improve the reliability of our network, electrify more communities, improve the experience of our paying customers, and create more jobs.”

-Report by Puseletso Mokoena