The supply of electricity to many parts of Gauteng will remain erratic over winter, with\u00a0illegal connections and the continued roll-out of smart meters contributing factors.<\/p>\n
According to a report by the City Press, Eskom said illegal connections to power substations have put strain on its supply to a number of areas in Gauteng \u2013 with cold weather adding to demand.<\/p>\n
It said along with the roll-out of smart meters in houses, the company was building bigger substations which would increase power capacity.<\/p>\n
The new substations will also prevent local residents from \u201cfiddling and tampering\u201d with them, and prevent illegal connections.<\/p>\n
New installations have been completed in parts of Soweto, Midrand, and Sandton. The installation of the smart meters and new substations is expected to take between three to five years.<\/p>\n
Eskom said illegal connections to substations were only part of the problem, as the perpetrators of the connections also tamper with switches that are meant to trip when the system overloads.<\/p>\n
This prevents the substation from tripping its power when overloaded \u2013 which the people hooking up illegal connections know will take place \u2013 and has resulted in substations exploding.<\/p>\n
City Power said illegal connections and cable theft were a major problem for it, with illegal connections costing the power utility about R900 million a year.<\/p>\n
This follows illegal connections overloading the grid, causing power outages across parts of Johannesburg, on Friday.<\/p>\n
The full report is in the City Press, 19 June 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n No load shedding this winter: Eskom<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n What you need to know about Eskom\u2019s newest R25 billion power plant<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Joburg hit by mass blackouts as minister denies load shedding<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on Eskom<\/h3>\n