Sechaba ka’Nkosi
National electricity supplier Eskom and local authorities are fighting an uphill battle against the booming illegal business of “alternative” electricity supply.
It’s alternative, say its practitioners, because most residents whose power has been cut by town councils for non-payment prefer to use their services rather than paying the R650 reconnection fee.
The practice is most prevalent in Gauteng and the Free State. It nets the practitioners millions of rands in profits, at the expense of Eskom and local authorities. Even respected business people use the illegal connectors when they experience problems with the authorities.
Despite the police crackdown on electricity theft throughout the country, Eskom admitted losses totalling a “significant and troubling” percentage of its R3-billion net income last year, prompting senior managers to look at other strategies to combat the escalating problem.
Town councils are fighting an equally losing battle against defaulters. Immediately after supplies are cut, residents turn to the connectors, who charge as little as R100 for a reconnection.
In some instances, syndicates bypass meters and residents continue to use electricity for years without paying a cent for consumption.
Sipho Mabuza (not his real name) is one of the kingpins behind illegal connections in Thokoza on the East Rand, one of the areas hard hit by credit-control measures instituted by the local town council.
Although Mabuza does not posses any formal qualification for his job, his skill is in such demand that he is called to reconnect at least six houses a day. He used to be employed as a handyman at electric equipment company Barlows
He says his prices vary, depending on whether he knows the customer. For a reconnection he charges friends R40, twice that amount for strangers, up to R300 to bypass the electricity meter and R800 for businesses.
Although at first reluctant to talk about his methods, Mabuza eventually showed the Mail & Guardian how he bypassed the council’s electricity meter. “I want to make sure these people never ever worry about an electricity bill in their lives,” Mabuza explained confidently.
He takes an accomplice with him to keep an eye out for the authorities while he is busy. He starts by switching off the supply at the nearest sub-station to ensure no electricity flows to his customer’s house. Then the cable connecting the meter to the sub-station is cut inside the house. Another cable is run from the house to the sub-station, and in a little less than an hour the operation is completed.
“Sometimes I walk home late in the evening and find people waiting for me,” says Mabuza. “I take my tools and go. Even though the business is risky, I continue because that is the only means for me to survive. What else can one do?
“I help the community, and the community appreciates my work by paying for services rendered. When business is good, I can make more than R1 500 a day.”
In nearby Eden Park, Sid Willemse (also not his real name) offers a similar service. Willemse’s customers are a little more affluent than those in Thokoza and his prices are a little higher than Mabuza’s. On a good day, he says, he can make up to R2 000.
“If I operated in town, I would be rich by now. But still I survive on what I make here,” says Willemse.
Most people who make use of the “low-cost electricians” blame Eskom and municipalities for the escalation of the problem. They say new councillors have adopted apartheid-style credit-control measures to adjust to realities in local governance.
Eskom representative Peter Adams says the problem is not only experienced in the townships; affluent communities also use illegal connectors. “It’s an international problem. Countries such as Brazil, the United States and some in Europe are faced with the same predicament.”
Adams adds that while Eskom is aware people consume electricity illegally, there is little it can do because illegal use can only be detected if it occurs on a large scale. Another problem is that surrounding communities refuse to co-operate with the authorities to detect abusers.
Says Adams: “We now rely on education and pamphlets to alert the public to the legal implications as well as the dangers of interfering with electricity. So far the extent of the problem has dropped from 28% last year to 17% this year.”