Eskom launches Operation Khanyisa to fight illegal connections in KwaZulu-Natal
Eskom has begun a campaign to combat illegal electricity connections and the prosecute electricity thieves in KwaZulu-Natal and other provinces. On Friday Eskom’s KwaZulu-Natal GM, Monde Bala, said Operation Khanyisa would target informal settlements, townships, suburbs and even industrial areas. He said SA was losing about R20bn worth of electricity annually due to illegal connections. Apart from the monetary loss, illegal connections had resulted in the deaths of 29 people and caused serious injuries to 82 others people in KwaZulu-Natal alone in the past three years. The fatalities include a 37-year-old woman was electrocuted in Intshawini, near Stanger, while fetching water last year. A man who tried to help her was electrocuted, but survived the ordeal. The bucket of water she was carrying on her head touched a low-hanging live wire being used to illegal connect electricity.
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