Supplied
Eskom said that a farm owner in the Fochville area in Gauteng is in custody for allegedly supplying hundreds of homes in informal settlements with illegal power.
Spokesperson, Daphne Mokoena, said a joint investigation stakeholder investigation led to the discovery of a large-scale illegal operation on the heavily-guarded farm in Leeupoort near Fochville.
“Intelligence investigations uncovered that stolen electrical equipment was being used to supply electricity illegally to nearby informal settlements in exchange for payment.
“Over 600 informal households were illegally connected to electricity provided by the farmer. This operation has led to an estimated financial loss of more than R6.6 million for Eskom,” Mokoena said.
She said during the recent raid, authorities recovered critical infrastructure, including two transformers (2x100kVA and 1x50kVA) and 150 meter boxes belonging to City Power and Eskom.
Mokoena said the farm owner has been charged with tampering with essential infrastructure and malicious damage to property, including illegal redistribution and resale of electricity.
She said Eskom has been investigating the case since 2018, with the property being disconnected multiple times.
“However, the farmer repeatedly reconnected the power supply,” she said.
Mokoena said he appeared in court on Wednesday and the matter was postponed to 11 December for a bail hearing.
