To address its R100m debt to Eskom, the Ulundi local municipality in KwaZulu-Natal has embarked on a campaign to disconnect illegally connected households.
The municipality said it was struggling to pay Eskom as residents continue to steal power, affecting the revenue collection, and there has been an increase in illegal electricity connections.
It said a lot of illegally connected households have been disconnected and it will be looking to intensify its operation in other areas.
The team is led by mayor Wilson Ntshangase and includes deputy Thembelihle Gaba Madela, speaker Senzosenkosi Buthelezi and other councillors.
“We are still taking illegal connection into our own hands as this is the main reason the debt keeps on increasing at such a fast pace. We, with our workers from the electricity department, will be going to all the areas that are supplied by the municipality and disconnecting those that are illegally connected,” said Ntshangase.
“We will not hesitate if we find you have bridged or connected illegally, we switch it off.”
Last week the municipality disconnected several households after they were found to have connected illegally. Of six houses visited last week, five were found to have tampered with the power connection and were disconnected.
KZN municipality that owes Eskom R100m cuts off illegally connected households
Image: Supplied
To address its R100m debt to Eskom, the Ulundi local municipality in KwaZulu-Natal has embarked on a campaign to disconnect illegally connected households.
The municipality said it was struggling to pay Eskom as residents continue to steal power, affecting the revenue collection, and there has been an increase in illegal electricity connections.
It said a lot of illegally connected households have been disconnected and it will be looking to intensify its operation in other areas.
The team is led by mayor Wilson Ntshangase and includes deputy Thembelihle Gaba Madela, speaker Senzosenkosi Buthelezi and other councillors.
“We are still taking illegal connection into our own hands as this is the main reason the debt keeps on increasing at such a fast pace. We, with our workers from the electricity department, will be going to all the areas that are supplied by the municipality and disconnecting those that are illegally connected,” said Ntshangase.
“We will not hesitate if we find you have bridged or connected illegally, we switch it off.”
Last week the municipality disconnected several households after they were found to have connected illegally. Of six houses visited last week, five were found to have tampered with the power connection and were disconnected.
City of uMhlathuze threatens to remove electricity meters of defaulting state entities
Meanwhile, the City of uMhlathuze on the KZN north coast also conducted power disconnections on entities last week that owe large amounts after failed consultation and negotiations.
This was one was to recover money owed by clients, especially electricity, said the city on Tuesday.
It said some entities owed the municipality more than R45m.
The city said the entities that were disconnected on Thursday include the departments of education, social development and transport, Eskom and Mhlathuze Water.
“Eskom and Mhlathuze Water subsequently paid a portion of their debts and were reconnected. We have managed to recover close to R40m through this initiative in a space of less than a week. Today the CFO and the electricity team will be going back to entities that have not settled their debts to inspect whether they have illegally reconnected themselves. If they have, we have no choice but to remove the meter,” said the city.
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