Eskom explains why illegal electricity farm raid took six years

Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena says it took the power utility six years to successfully raid an illegal electricity farm in Leeupoort, Gauteng because the property was heavily guarded.

Speaking to SABC News, Mokwena said Eskom couldn’t force its way onto the property to access its electricity meter, which would have endangered its technicians.

“We had to send our technical guys to go and read the meter, and we found some heavily armed guards at this customer’s property,” she said.

“So, clearly, we couldn’t just force our way in because we need to make sure that our employees are safe. However, we have been working with the police since 2018, since we found out that we are unable to get into the property.”

“Unfortunately, it took us this long to make a breakthrough. We had to come with about 80 police officers and beef up our security guys as well to assist,” added Mokwena.

On Wednesday, 4 December 2024, Eskom announced that it, along with the South African Police Service, City Power, and contracted security personnel, had successfully raided a large-scale illegal electricity operation in Leeupoort.

The raid came after Eskom uncovered the illegal electricity operation as early as 2018. It discovered that stolen electrical equipment was being used to supply electricity to nearby informal settlements illegally.

This was done in exchange for payment.

“Over 600 informal households were illegally connected to electricity provided by the farmer,” said Eskom.

The operation is estimated to cost more than R6.6 million in lost sales revenue.

Authorities raided three houses on the farm, all of which were heavily guarded, and confiscated critical infrastructure, including two transformers and 150-meter boxes belonging to Eskom and City Power.

It also resulted in the arrest of the farm owner, aged 80, who is suspected of running the operation. He was being held at Fochville Police Station.

“The suspect was charged with tampering with essential infrastructure and malicious damage to property, including illegal redistribution and resale of electricity,” said Eskom.

The farm owner remains in custody after appearing in court on Wednesday, 4 December 2024. His bail hearing is set for Wednesday, 11 December.

“Eskom has been investigating the case since 2018, with the property being disconnected multiple times. However, the farmer repeatedly reconnected the power supply,” said Eskom.

It has now disconnected the entire affected area.

The state-owned power utility warned electricity and infrastructure thieves, saying those found tampering with or damaging its infrastructure could face up to 30 years in jail.

“Such activities disrupt essential services, pose serious safety risks, and undermine the sustainability of the electricity network,” added Eskom.

The utility has a massive illegal electricity and connection problem on its hands, with its recent prepaid meter update project revealing that there were approximately 2.1 million customers whose meters weren’t vending electricity.

Towards the end of the project, this figure came down by around 400,000 to 1.7 million as non-paying prepaid customers were offered amnesty as Eskom helped them with their meter updates.

The 600-odd homes connected to the illegal network in Leeupoort likely aren’t included in these figures as they aren’t on Eskom’s database.