According to Lusanda Ntombana, Programme Management Manager at Eskom Distribution in the Cape Coastal Cluster, theft and vandalism remain among the top threats to Mfuleni’s power system.
During a visit to Eskom’s Mfuleni electrification site, delegates who attended Enlit Africa’s Distribution Site Tour were greeted by a nest of seven-metre-long service poles intended to support the informal settlement’s electrical needs.
However, despite the ongoing initiatives held by South Africa’s power utility Eskom to educate the Mfuleni community on electricity infrastructure and its safety, theft and vandalism remain rampant.
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Illegal connections and safety concerns
According to Ntombana, Mfuleni’s Eskom district currently has 900 electricity connections and the utility plans to install 1,043 electricity connections in the near future.
Fourteen (14) 200kVA transformers currently supply a maximum of 20 amps of electricity per house in the informal settlement due to safety concerns. Still, the community does not have a shortage of safety issues as cable theft is rampant.
Ntombana detailed an experience where a protest was staged as a distraction to excavate 16km of cables illegally. Citing another incident, he said criminals masqueraded in reflective service gear to avert suspicion while stealing electricity infrastructure in broad daylight.
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Nonetheless, Ntombana listed vandalism and sabotage of electricity lines as a main threat, saying that vandals will cut vital power wires either out of curiosity or to sell for small change (money). These, he confirmed, have been aggravated by loadshedding.
Not only do these criminal acts affect the community’s electricity supply, but they have also resulted in a number of fatalities.
In light of this, Ntombana said that the utility has continued to run initiatives to educate communities and has invested in anti-vandalism bolts and other methods to discourage illegal activities. ESI
