An employee of a contractor at Eskom’s Matla Power Station has been arrested on suspicion of theft of copper cables.

He faces charges of theft and unlawful possession of a copper cable valued at some R4 000.

Eskom Acting General Manager for Security, Botse Sikhwitshi, said the utility’s security teams have cracked down on crime at Eskom.

‘We commend the security teams from Matla Power Station for their vigilance. The arrest of the suspect aligns with Eskom’s zero-tolerance approach towards illegal activities. Furthermore, the collaboration with law enforcement is also bearing fruit.

‘Eskom has also recorded a 5% decrease on crime incidents across the company in the 2023/24 financial year compared to 2022/23 financial year,’ Sikhwitshi said.

Meanwhile, Eskom says repairs to a vandalised transformer affecting at least nine areas in Soweto are progressing.

The transformer was damaged when a fire broke out due to illegal connections and vandalism.

‘While repairing the damaged transformer, we have managed t
o provide electricity supply to all the affected areas using three other existing transformers in the Zola sub-station. However, this temporary measure has led to increased electricity consumption beyond the capacity of these three transformers.

‘As a result, Eskom is implementing load rotation between 5pm and 10:30pm daily until June 30. The schedule has been communicated to customers. It’s important to note that load rotation is not the same as load shedding; load shedding has been suspended for 90 consecutive days,’ Eskom said.

The utility expects all repairs to be concluded by Sunday.

‘Eskom strongly condemns the continuous theft and vandalism of its equipment across Gauteng. There has been an increase in incidents of theft and vandalism, resulting in the loss of revenue and increased replacement costs for Eskom.

‘These criminal acts do not only affect the power utility, but they inconvenience law-abiding, paying customers and affect community service points such as healthcare facilities, education fa
cilities, businesses and the economy at large as seen with the Zola incident,’ Eskom said.

Source: South African Government News Agency