Some residents have suffered years of being without electricity after a transformer exploded due to illegal connections
Image: Facebook
Residents of Edendale, Pietermaritzburg, face ongoing electricity outages due to damaged transformers and fines imposed by Eskom, raising concerns as local elections approach.
According to their Ward 11 councillor in Snathing, Sanele Zuma, Eskom has refused to replace the damaged transformers since 2021 until each homeowner pays a R3000 fine for illegally connecting electricity.
While some residents have paid others have not due to unemployment.
In the Emahlathini area, which is under Ward 11, about 140 households have been without electricity since 2024.
Zuma said this number might be a fraction as there are 11 transformers that were damaged since 2021, but he could not give the total number of affected families.
Eskom has not yet responded to questions sent to its KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson, Saras Beemiah, on Tuesday.
On May 16, 2024, the state-owned power producer reported that over 2000 transformers across the country exploded as a result of being overburdened due to illegal connections. This led to some communities being without electricity for extended periods.
The company had in the period of 12 until May 2024 spent over R300 million replacing damaged transformers and mini substations, “without any revenue for its efforts”.
He said he has held several meetings with Eskom customers in his ward.
In the absence of electricity, residents currently depend on firewood and gas stoves for cooking and warming bath water while those who can afford it have installed solar systems.
This has been cited as a consequence of interfering with Eskom infrastructure although some of the residents said they were wrongly punished as they claimed that they had been buying electricity prior to the blackout.
He said Eskom had in 2020 introduced a policy of charging each household a fine of R3000 for a damaged transformer.
“Eskom would inspect the transformer and after confirming damage, an audit would be conducted to establish how many households consumed from a damaged transformer without paying for electricity.
“If 75% of the people using that transformer are not paying, they each must pay a R3000 fine to acquire a new transformer.
“But if people pay for the electricity, Eskom will restore power for free,” said Zuma.
He said most of the people in the ward have complained that they do not have money to pay the fines due to unemployment.
He said he brought Eskom to the ward to talk to its customers early this year.
“In the last meeting, Eskom said smart meters would be installed and that customers whose transformers have been damaged would be replaced without paying the fine.
“That project was due to start in April, but we are waiting as it has already started in other wards,” he said.
Some residents said during the process of paying the fine, Zuma told them earlier this year that there was no more need to pay the fine as Eskom had pledged to replace the transformers without cost in March, something that has not happened.
However, Zuma said this pledge came from Eskom, not him.
He said when Eskom made the pledge, he had already held a community meeting to check if enough people had paid the fine so he could help convince Eskom to restore power supply.
“The attendance in the meeting was very poor as only 11 people showed up,” said Zuma.
He called on residents to be patient and wait for Eskom
“If they had paid the money when Eskom was demanding it, the electricity would have been restored.
“But something will be done soon as Eskom has committed itself and the work has started in other areas.
“Don’t blame me as the councillor because I am not Eskom and not Eskom’s spokesperson.
“If there are problems between the community and Eskom, I organise Eskom to speak to the people,” said Zuma.
One of the community leaders who asked to remain anonymous for fear of intimidation said had Eskom and Zuma not discouraged residents from paying the fines, enough households would have been paid for and the transformer replaced.
“Those of us who cannot afford it have not been using fridges and TVs since 2021.
“Even elderly women have to fetch firewood so that they can cook meals.
“People are going to vote for change as they want a councillor who is going to resolve this problem,” the resident said.
Other residents have blamed Eskom for punishing everyone, including those who have been paying electricity bills, for a problem caused by those who illegally connected the power in their homes.
“Eskom should come up with a system that would only disconnect people who do not pay for the electricity and those who are illegally connected.
“It must also reconnect those who have already paid the fines and be lenient toward those who cannot afford it because of unemployment,” the resident said.
Another resident said it was frustrating that only less than 50% of the residents have paid while others said they could not afford the amount as they are unemployed.