MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The Mossel Bay Advertiser received a complaint from a Dube Street, Asla Park, resident that in her street and in others in Asla Park, residents are without electricity.

The resident said people illegally tapping into the electricity supply were causing interruptions in electricity supply for the legal residents who were paying for their electricity.

She complained that the problem had been ongoing for three years and that the municipality said it had no money to remedy it.

Mossel Bay Municipality spokesperson Nickey le Roux responded to the complaint, saying the municipality was aware of the electricity supply problems residents in, among others, Dube Street, Mzola Street, Plaatjie Street and Mbangi Street had been facing for some time and apologised for the inconvenience that the legal consumers often had to endure.

Le Roux said: “The problem of repeated power outages stems from the illegal connections by those in the informal settlement directly adjacent to this area.

“The municipality regularly acts to remove the illegal connections, which are then only reconnected.

“Also, it is life-threatening for standby teams to disconnect power lines or repair damage at night in the area.”

Le Roux said this had often been met with “violent community backlash”.

She noted that according to regulations, a municipal budget could not fund electricity infrastructure in informal settlements.

Also, the informal area was established on land that was, until recently, privately owned.

“However, the National Energy Fund serves that purpose. The municipality has applied for funding and the good news is that the required infrastructure in the adjacent informal settlement will soon be installed and ease the pressure on the formal neighbourhoods in Asla Park's network,” Le Roux said.

“Unfortunately, there are no short-term solutions to electricity theft. The municipality has been working on the solution for some time and is establishing a task force to help stop illegal electricity theft and land invasion. Among others, the contracted Red Ants have been deployed in the area.”

Le Roux noted the progress of electrification in the area near Dube and Mzola streets:

1. North of Mbangi and Dube Street: In the area indicated in yellow, the LV network and service connections have been installed for 170 houses in the past six weeks. The network is yet to be energised. The meters will likely be installed this week, whereafter the meter registrations have to be done by the individual consumers. The new connections can be activated by 16 July.
2. South of Mzola street: The contractor is busy with the LV network and service connections for 80 houses in the area, indicated in blue. These connections are likely to be energised by 30 July.

Le Roux said: “Mossel Bay Municipality regularly removes illegal connections. According to the logs kept for June 2021, at least 240 operations were launched with, in some instances, up to 20 illegal connections per pole.

“The municipality is asking residents to stop the illegal electricity connections. Illegal connections are often the cause of fatal accidents that could have been prevented.”

This diagram explains municipal plans to expand electricity supply.

Illegal use of electricity:

The scourge of illegal wiring and electricity theft/tampering is on the increase in many of our townships. Apart from the daily call out complaints from residents several operations were carried out by the Municipal Electricity Department in various areas and a total of 606 supplies were disconnected as from July 2020 for various contraventions, ranging from illegal power connections, meter tampering, meter bypassing and illegal electrification. It is imperative that consumers adhere to the legal requirements for the safe use of electricity as stipulated in the electricity supply bylaws and the electrical installation regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993.Electricity also threatens the life and well -being of innocent victims and at least 2 fatalities were reported over the past 12 months in the Asla and KwaNonqaba areas. Electricity theft also makes it difficult for the Municipality to manage demand and supply and this contributes to frequent power failures in some areas. An appeal is made to all customers to take note of the following requirements to avoid obvious consequences such as lengthy prison sentences, losing assets that result from such crimes as well as serious loss of reputation:

• Customers are not allowed to resell electricity without written permission from the Municipality.  Be on the look-out for criminal syndicates who often pose as legal providers and offer you services at a fee.
• In terms of the electrical installation regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993, the user of electricity is responsible for the safe use of electricity and must ensure that any extensions, modifications and repairs to his or her installation is undertaken by an accredited electrical contractor.
• The laying of cables from the customer’s distribution boards to other customers for the sake of distributing electricity to buildings on adjoining properties is strictly prohibited.
• The use of non-SABS material on electrical installations is illegal.
• The bypassing of municipal electricity meters and protective devices is prohibited.
• No persons or organisations are allow to work at municipal supply points.
• Electrical distribution board or circuits that are not properly labelled can cause serious accidents.
• Most domestic installations are restricted to 60 amp supplies and do not make provision for the redistribution of electricity as this could result in over loadings, causing nuisance tripping of the municipal circuit breakers.
• Electricity supplied to an installation under a specific tariff cannot be used for a purpose other than as contemplated by that tariff.
• Changes to the customer’s electricity supply point without the relevant Municipal consent where there may be a potential effect on the municipal distribution network is prohibited.
• Electrification of informal houses are funded by the Department of Energy through the National Electrification Programme and only areas that are proclaimed and suitable for settlement are electrified.

Any illegal use of electricity can be reported anonymously to the municipality’s Electricity Department at 044-606-5082/6 or sms to 44802 at a cost of 50c.

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