Johannesburg – Eskom has commended Diepkloof Zone 3 residents as it recorded a 64% increase in customers who were finally buying electricity legally as part of their efforts to honour their deferred payment agreements with the power utility.
The power utility commended the township for the strides it had made, having been one of the many areas in Soweto that had contributed to Soweto’s Eskom debt of billions of rand.
The debt had accumulated over many years due to illegal connections, buying electricity illegally and non-payment of electricity bills, among many other things.
The improvements in Diepkloof Zone 3 come as a result of disconnections and insurance of remedial fees that Eskom implemented in November 2021 due to customers who were bypassing meters, buying electricity from ghost vendors, not paying for the electricity they consumed and illegally connecting to the electricity network.
Customers who were issued with remedial sheets have moved into Deferred Payment Arrangements (DPA) with Eskom and most of them are found to be honouring these agreements.
Eskom spokesperson in Gauteng Amanda Qithi said: “The revenue lost on zero buyers was averaging R435 000 a month, which has significantly decreased.”
The power utility has since seen an increase of 82% in sales and a reduction of about 40% in energy losses.
Eskom has also further noted an increase from 22% to 86% of customers who are purchasing legal electricity tokens in the area.
Qithi said: “Subsequently, Diepkloof Zone 3 will be removed from load reduction as the energy losses have continued to reduce to below 51%.
“This is an indication that the network is not overloaded, therefore minimising the possibility of equipment failing and exploding. Eskom is still faced with a high demand for equipment that needs to be repaired or replaced as a result of repeated failures and damages.”
Qithi added: “To curb these failures and damages, Eskom implements control measures such as audits, disconnections, maintenance, load reduction and the equipment replacement process, which has been intensified to further ensure financial sustainability and return on investment.”
The Power Utility has further said that it has made efforts to ensure that customers would continue to honour their agreements with them by conducting an audit, which included checking meters, and continued to issue remedial notices and disconnect those whose meters were found to be tampered with or who were found to still be purchasing units from ghost vendors.
“From conducting illegal electricity-related acts and ensuring that energy losses from their respective feeders are below 51%, like in Diepkloof Zone 3, Eskom remains committed to partner with all communities to ensure the sustainable resolution of electricity challenges across Gauteng,” said Qithi.