Eskom tackles safe use of electricity in north west

Andile Zingitwa

In a drive to address the innocuous use of power,  The Giant power utility has embarked on an education campaign to disseminate information about the correct use of electricity.

This was triggered by the recent spate of casualties in Khuma Location, North West province.

According to Eskom, the reported losses of lives emanated from substandard and poorly insulated wiring which is often the result of illegal connections, meter tampering and bypassing by some members of the community.

Most of the injuries and deaths were a result of substandard wiring caused mainly by illegal connections, saidAzwimbavhiMamanyuha, the North West general manager of Eskom.

“Two members of the public lost their lives here after dangerous contact with electricity. In one incident, an eight year old boy was electrocuted after touching a fence which was touching a live wire running from an illegal connection”, Mamanyuha explained.

Mamanyuha further revealed that,In another incident, a 40year old man lost his life after being electrocuted while making contact with a washing line that was linked to a substandard open wiring.

Alex Stramrood, Senior Occupational Health and Safety Manager at Eskom told the media entourage, the same fence had previously shocked the deceased boy’s father, who fortunately survived.

Stramrood further revealed that,People in most cases children, are often injured or die when they accidentally come into contact with live electrical wires from illegal connections.

“Safety is a major focus area at Eskom, which extends to everyone including our employees, contractors, consumers and the general public. We encourage our communities to empower themselves with knowledge about electricity safety and to do whatever is necessary to eliminate any hazardous circumstances caused by improper and illegal connections. This is rooted in our   Zero Harm pledge of ensuring that no one looses his or her life or is injured while using electricity, but in order to achieve this, we need assistance from our communities. Our visit to Khuma forms part of our commitment to working with communities towards a safer environment,” He said.

Did you know? According to Eskom.

• The power utility has lined up a series of tours countrywide to educate the public about this subject.
• Eskom is raising awareness through educating media and communities about dangers associated with unsafe and improper use of electricity including illegal connections, cable theft, low-hanging conductors, meter tampering and by-passing.
• Eskom says, South Africans can get their electricity by following correct channels without having to endanger their lives by connecting illegally which leads to deaths or injuries.
• An illegal electricity connection is one that is made to the Eskom network, either at a mini sub-station, a neighbour’s meter or electricity board or overhead line, without Eskom’s permission or by non-Eskom personnel.

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