Residents in Melmoth without electricity for 3 months

A damaged transformer, largely due to illegal electricity connections, in the rural town of Obuka in Melmoth in northern KwaZulu-Natal has left residents frustrated.

For the last three months, houses in Obuka have suffered an electricity blackout.

Eskom has confirmed that the transformer which burnt out in April, was due to an electricity overload that was caused by illegal connections.

Obuka residents say they have not been able to buy groceries in bulk- the cheaper option- as they previously would. Many say they have to collect wood to cook.

Some claim that crime has increased in the area because of the blackout.

Sixty six-year-old Busisiwe Simelane, a diabetic, says a lack of power impacts her health because she has to keep her medication in a fridge.

“We have been without electricity from the 9th of April. They are not fixing electricity and now it’s becoming a health concern since we have medication that requires to be kept in the fridge. We have nothing in our fridge. We are unable to buy food like meat in bulk. We have to collect wood to be able to cook.”

But the matter is not as simple.

Preventing illegal connections

Eskom spokesperson, Daphney Mokwena says it is up to houses who have been issued fines due to their illegal connections to pay them. She says this is the only way to prevent further illegal connections.

“This is very costly for Eskom and it’s also unfair for those paying customers. So unfortunately, we have to follow that process where we ensure that most of the customers that were not paying have to pay their fines, and we fix the meters so that they continue buying and this will prevent the transformer from failing again.”

Another frustrated resident, Masuku Biyela, chastises the power utility for using a blanket approach, saying the entire community is suffering because of a few households who break the law.

“What Eskom is doing to us is really painful because we all end up suffering because of neighbours with illegal connections. Eskom ends up switching off electricity for all of us instead of dealing with that particular individual who is stealing electricity. This really hurts because when they checked my electricity connection, they found that everything was fine with my connection but now we are in suffering because of theses illegal connections.”

Auditing stopped

Ward 13 councilllor in the Mthonjaneni Municipality, Thulani Mpungose claims that some community members have prevented Eskom from conducting audits on the illegal connections in their homes.

“I had a meeting with community members and Eskom officials. Eskom officials wanted to check each homes if the electricity was connected legally, unfortunately some homesteads blocked Eskom officials from entering their homes. Eskom officials felt intimidated, they decided to stop auditing and left.”

Some residents who have anonymously admitted to the illegal electricity connections say they simply cannot pay the fine for the reconnection, leaving the entire ward in the dark for the near future at least.

Electricity crisis I Eskom vs Obuka residents over illegal electricity connections: