The DA has raised concerns about claims that Eskom and some municipalities are forcing residents to pay for the replacement of transformers which have been damaged due to illegal connections. Several KwaZulu-Natal residents, including within uMgungundlovu District Municipality, are without electricity as Eskom is demanding that they pool together funds to replace damaged transformers. However, DA KZN spokesperson on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Marlaine Nair said it was grossly unfair for Eskom to ask residents to fork out money for transformers.
Eskom and those municipalities which supply electricity should address the problem of illegal connections. “Those individuals who make illegal connections should be arrested. “You can’t punish the entire community just because someone within the community has broken the law.
“It’s illegal to deprive the entire community of electricity because someone decided to tamper with either a municipal or Eskom transformer,” she said. Replacing a damaged transformer costs anything between R60 000 and R120 000. In Snathing, residents were asked by Eskom to pay R6 000 per household to replace a transformer which blew due to illegal connections.
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In Ulundi, the residents of the impoverished community of Mdumela have been without electricity for several months after the transformer in the area blew up due to illegal connections. DA Ulundi councillor Thamsanqa Zungu said the community has been without electricity since February.
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