Eskom, on Friday 19 June, posted a video showing how it’s Diepsloot transformer in Gauteng exploded. The power utility put the explosion, which took place on Thursday, down to illegal connections which later result in load reduction.
Eskom has, many times over, warned against illegal connections. Due to these “connections,” it has been forced to implement “load reductions” in certain areas.
Eskom took to Twitter on Friday morning to express its concern.
“We have noted with concern that a transformer exploded in Diepsloot Ext19 yesterday [Thursday 18 June] due to overloading caused by illegal connections and meter bypasses exposing community members and property to harm,” it said.
“Stop illegal connections,” it added.
In the video, community members can be heard gathering around what looks like a cloud of smoke. Suddenly, there is an explosion which reaches quite far into the air. Like Eskom said, these “unexpected” explosions could cause harm to the community, even proving to be fatal.
ESKOM: NETWORK OVERLOADING AND ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS CAUSING FREQUENT POWER CUTS
On Friday 19 June, Eskom released a statement saying it is aware of the “significant” rise in network overloading resulting from illegal connections in the Osizweni area of Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal.
“With the large number of illegal electricity consumers exerting strain on the network which already supplies 4908 legal customers, the network is overloaded and there is also a voltage drop towards the end of the line,” it said.
“When there is a network overload, Eskom is forced to de-load it by switching off some of our customers, which then affects the Jakkalspan area at the end of the line,” it added.
Eskom maintains that the cause of network overload is the perpetual problem of illegal connections, meter bypasses and other theft-related activities in its infrastructure, which contribute to load reductions.
