Power utility Eskom says only 40% of customers in Soweto are paying for electricity.
Eskom said while residents in the township claim they are willing to pay for electricity, their records say otherwise.
Eskom spokesperson Amanda Qithi said: “In Soweto, Eskom has a total of 173,800 customers, of which 85,563 are zero buyers,” Qithi said.
This means that more than 50% of customers in Soweto are illegally connected to the grid.
Qithi said they had recorded a higher number of failed mini-substations and transformers due to the network overloading.
The overloading, according to Eskom, is caused by purchasing electricity tokens from ghost vendors and non-payment of electricity, illegal connections, meter bypasses and tampering, unauthorised operations on the electricity network.
She said vandalism and theft also added to the crisis. Qithi said an audit was conducted by the power utility and reconnection fees of R6,053.60 were issued to non-payers.
And while residents say Eskom doesn’t engage them at all, Qithi said there are constant engagements by educating their customers and raising awareness on the importance of paying for the electricity they use and buying electricity from legal vendors.
“Because if they engage in illegal electricity related activities these have a negative impact on the communities, Eskom and the economy at large. Eskom remains committed and ready to engage further with our customers and all stakeholders to find lasting solutions that will sustain our operations, assist our economy to grow, and improve the quality of life of the community of Soweto,” Qithi said.
Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse's spokesperson Mabine Seabe said the view that Soweto residents are unwilling to pay was not true.
“There is a misconception that people do not want to pay. They certainly want to pay but they want value for money and it is up to us who provide those services, whether national, provincial or local, to ensure that those services are delivered. It is the mayor’s priority to ensure that we get the basics rights,” Seabe said.
Seabe said while there will be a budget that will take effect on July 1, residents will see a vast difference on service delivery especially when it comes to matters of electricity and other road infrastructure.
“People of Soweto are supplied electricity by Eskom and we are engaging with them on how residents of Soweto can be best serviced and the mayor has said how Eskom and the national Treasury need to explore debt write offs and debt rehabilitation as we do in the City of Johannesburg,” he said.
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