Eskom has returned its Medupi Unit 3 facility to full capacity following a 75-day outage.
Photo: Adobe Stock
Eskom employee caught red-handed installing an illegal connection
The electricity provider confirmed the arrest of an employee on Friday, while expressing concern over the growing number of Eskom employees engaging in corrupt and illegal practices.
Eskom has returned its Medupi Unit 3 facility to full capacity following a 75-day outage.
Photo: Adobe Stock
An Eskom employee and a former contractor have been arrested after being caught in the act of installing an illegal breaker at a substation in Orlando East, Soweto.
The electricity provider confirmed the arrests on Friday while stating their concern over the growing number of Eskom employees engaging in corrupt and illegal practices. The employee arrested this week is the seventh member of Eskom staff to be arrested in 2020 for the misuse or theft of infrastructure.
Counting the cost of illegal connections
Illegal connections are the leading cause of unplanned power outages in South Africa and cost Eskom somewhere in the region of R20 billion a year.
“An Eskom employee and a former Eskom contractor employee were arrested for allegedly colluding and illegally installing a breaker in a mini-substation without the necessary authorisation on Thursday, 23 April 2020 in Orlando East, Soweto.”
Eskom
The criminal duo were nabbed in a co-operative sting operation which the South African Police Service (SAPS) ran alongside Eskom. The employee will face an internal disciplinary process over and above the criminal charges to be levelled against them.
Eskom employee arrested
“The two suspects were arrested by the SAPS after being caught in action by the Eskom security as part of our sting operation to root out unethical behaviour and irregular conduct in our operations.
“Furthermore, our employee will be subjected to internal disciplinary processes.
“The growing number of Eskom employees who are involved in criminal activities is a major concern to us.
“Since the beginning of the year to date, we have recorded seven employees who were arrested for their alleged involvement in the theft and misuse of Eskom infrastructure.
“We are however pleased that our efforts to curb and root out wrongdoings that seek to undermine our efforts to deliver services and be efficient in our operations are bearing fruit”, said Motlhabane Ramashi, the Senior Manager for Maintenance and Operations in Gauteng.
The two suspects are due to appear in court on Friday, 24 April 2020.
In a separate incident, a suspect was arrested in Mabopane, Tshwane for the alleged theft of a pole-mounted transformer and other material which was recovered from a house in the area. The successful arrest were made following tip-offs by members of the public.
“Eskom commends the members of the public for exposing criminality and the swift response by the SAPS in arresting all suspects. We urge all those who may be aware of any form of criminal acts by Eskom employees or anyone else, to anonymously alert us by calling the Eskom Crime Line on 0800 11 27”, to ensure we provide continuous electricity supply during this lockdown period and beyond Ramashi concluded.
