16 October 2016, Pretoria — Eskom has exceeded its electrification target for the second quarter of this financial year.
“We have achieved 101 067 connections, with 99 991 connections energised, which means that people are already using electricity against a target of 97 513 year-to-date,” said Mongezi Ntsokolo, the Group Executive for Eskom Distribution, on Friday.
Ntsokolo said Eskom is gradually moving towards its target of 207 332 connections by the end of this financial year (31 March 2017).
“A special focus is on the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, in order to address backlogs, thus making life easier for our people,” said Ntsokolo.
In February, National Treasury announced that it will allocate R17.6 billion to Eskom and municipalities for the rollout of the electrification programme to over 800 000 households over the next three years.
A further 70 000 households will be connected through non-grid technologies like solar PVs.
On Thursday, Eskom reminded South Africans of the dangers of illegal electricity connections that can be deadly in some instances.
In a statement, Eskom said illegal connections, commonly known as izinyoka, and meter tampering are a significant cause of injuries and fatalities in the country.
“An electricity connection is considered illegal when any connection is made to the Eskom network without Eskom’s permission. This can range from connecting to a mini substation, or simply connecting a neighbour through your personal meter or electricity board or tampering or bridging your meter,” said the power utility.