A group of Johannesburg residents are fuming after they bought a transformer and restored electricity in their neighbourhood, only for Eskom to come and remove it, leaving them in the dark.
In May, a transformer failed in Finetown, in the south of Johannesburg, leaving 85 households without electricity.
The residents told Sowetan they reported the matter to the local councillor and Eskom, which supplies the area. Most of the residents did not pay for electricity and some did not even have meters.
One of the residents, Michael Langeveldt, said Eskom gave them a form to fill in order for an audit to be done before the replacement of the transformer.
“Because we have observed that people in other areas had taken long to get their transformers and ended up living for six months without electricity, we decided to do things differently. We collected money among ourselves and raised R82,000. Each house paid R1,000. We bought the transformer and got a technician to install it. From December 16, electricity was back and everybody was happy,” Langeveldt said.
The transformer cost R52,000 and the rest of the money was used to replace the fuse, cable and pay for the technician.
But residents were shocked on February 23, when Eskom came accompanied by police, Red Ants and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department. The utility removed the transformer and the residents were back in the dark.
“When we asked who authorised them to remove the transformer, they said it was the councillor,” Langeveldt said.
But local councillor Shirley Nepfumbada disputed this.
When residents went to Nepfumbada’s home for answers, their meeting collapsed as tempers flared up.
Another resident, Mandla Danisa, said he went to Eskom to inquire about the removal of their transformer and was told it was removed on Nepfumbada’s instruction and that it had been stolen.
Nepfumbada said she did not send anyone to remove the transformer. All she did was to report the matter when the transformer stopped functioning last year.
“This transformer you are talking about is one of the five that have been reported to Eskom to be fixed. About the installation of a new transformer and its removal, I know nothing about it. I’m waiting for Eskom to come and conduct an audit. After the audit, Eskom will then install meters before restoring electricity. We are waiting in that queue. This is stressful to me because the community now thinks I do not care,” she said.
Eskom spokesperson Reneiloe Semenya said it had an obligation to disconnect the transformer as it was connected by an unauthorised person. “Illegal connections and operations result in instability on the network, which can lead to damages on the network equipment and also poses safety risk to members of the public,” Semenya said.
She said for the residents to get electricity, the audit process must be conducted in which proper assessment to infrastructure will be conducted.
“The customer would have to settle the remedial fee in cases where they have bridged or tampered with the meter or infrastructure to unduly benefit. However, in cases where the customer is not able to do so immediately, they would need to complete and sign deferred payment arrangements and settle the fine within six months,” Semenya said.
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