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- Tampering with meter boxes is the reason why 160 Soweto households are without electricity.
- People who illegally used electricity were disconnected.
- Some residents claim they never bypassed their meter boxes, but remain without electricity since June 2023.
About 160 households in Dobsonville, Soweto, have been without electricity since June when a transformer failed. Many of those affected are pensioners.
According to GroundUp, Eskom says the failure of the transformer was due to people illegally bypassing their meter boxes.
Gauteng Eskom spokesperson Amanda Qithi said that, when transformers failed, those who had been illegally using electricity were disconnected and asked to pay a "remedial fee" of R6 052.60.
This could be paid in stages, starting with a payment of R500. When 60% of those involved had paid, a new transformer could be installed and the connections could be restored, she said.
But Qithi acknowledged that, although the 60% threshold had been reached in the Dobsonville case, the households had still not been connected to electricity.
Qithi said:
In November, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi visited the area and promised the households would have electricity by Christmas.
Asked about the delay, his spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla, said installations had not been completed before Christmas as some Eskom and City Power employees had gone on holiday and, as such, work slowed.
"However, everyone is back at work, and we are stepping up our initiative to make sure that every home and township has been properly switched on," he said.
READ | 145 homes left without electricity for two months due to faulty Eskom substation
Eighty-four-year-old Jemina Sibeko, who lives with two grandchildren, said she had never bypassed her meter box.
"I pay electricity. I even still have receipts to prove I pay, that's why they should bring it back."
She said residents had marched to the ANC headquarters in Luthuli House.
She added:
Qithi said she was unable to say when the power would be restored.
"We will give updates as work progresses," she said.
