The act of connecting illegally to an electricity supply network impacts negatively on Eskom and remains a concern for innocent lives are lost due to this consequence of the unsafe use of electricity.
Reaffirming the seriousness of the illegal connections, Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said: “We believe that one injury or fatality as a result of the unsafe use of electricity is one too many.
According to the Ridge Times, South Africa is facing six forms of electricity theft resulting in an average loss of up to R20 billion ($1.5 billion) per annum.
The local publication states that bypassing of electric meters and consumers, mainly in informal settlements, illegally connecting themselves to the national grid are the two types of electricity theft most common in South Africa.
Vandalism of utility infrastructure, cable theft, the removal of oil from substations, the selling and use of illegal prepaid vouchers and non-payment of electricity tariffs are some of the factors characterised as electricity theft.
Whilst Eskom has saved R1.4 billion ($109,000) in revenue by reducing electricity theft from 7,12% to 6,43% between 2013 and 2017, the MoneyWeb reported that some municipalities reselling energy provided by the utility are still struggling with increases in non-revenue electricity.
For instance, Pretoria has in the 2015-2016 financial year recorded an increase in non-revenue electricity by 56% compared to the previous year.
At the same time, according to the Herald Live, one in every seven houses in the Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth has its electric meter tampered with, to result in an increase in non-revenue expenses.
On the other hand, the city of Johannesburg has managed to reduce energy theft from 29.2% during the same period due to factors such as the installation of prepaid meters.
City Power, the utility arm of the city of Johannesburg claims regular audits to consumer consumption patterns and meters led to the identification and replacement of a number of faulty meters inaccurately measuring usage data within its distribution network.
The smart prepaid electricity metering system has the ability to provide Eskom and City Power with notifications in the event of users tampering with their energy meters. According to the Star, the prepaid electric metering infrastructure would help Eskom recover R8 billion in arrears owed by municipal and individual consumers.