Scourge of illegal connections continue

While Eskom is battling to keep the lights on, and power reserves are running at an all time low, hundreds of homes in Zandspruit are using free electricity.

Ruimsig resident Deon Muller shared that he noticed that almost every street lamp on Beyers Naudé Drive powers homes in the informal settlement. “You can see multiple wires running from the lamps into the shacks,” explained Muller. The traffic light on the intersection of Peter Road and Beyers Naudé Drive is always non-functional and Muller suspects that it is linked to the illegal electricity connections in the settlement.

At the end of last year, [City Power embarked on an operation to cut off all the illegal electricity in the settlement but it doesn’t look like they have won the battle.

One of the residents who confessed to have illegally connected electricity said he did it because the City Council has failed to supply them with electricity. “We have applied numerous times with the council to have electricity installed in our settlement but it never happens,” said Johnson Ncube.

Ward councillor of the area Maureen Scheeman and City Power are still to comment on the matter.