South Africa’s state-owned power utility, Eskom, earlier this morning announced an unplanned electricity supply interruption in Limpopo province including municipality such as Sekororo, Bismark, Balloon and Morareleng.
In a press statement on Monday, the utility said the outage was caused by theft and vandalism on the Makhutswe-Bismark and Makhutswe Lekgalameetse feeders.
Eskom said the feeders forced the suspension of electricity supply in Ga-Sekororo and nearby communities.
“Eskom Limpopo regrets to inform customers of an unexpected power supply interruption in Ga-Sekororo and surrounding areas due to vandalism and theft of poles and mink conductors (cables).
“Criminals damaged poles and stole mink conductors (cables), cutting off power to thousands of customers,” the statement reads in part.
According to the circular shared by the utility giant, the affected locations include Sekororo, Bismark, Balloon, Morareleng, Mahlomelong, Moshate, and Jerusalema.
The company also noted that technicians are working to restore supply, but Eskom said the estimated time for full restoration has not yet been determined.
The utility warned that criminal elements within communities are threatening the security of supply.
It noted that the actions of a few individuals have plunged entire areas served by the Makhtutse Bismark and Makhtutse Lekgalameetse feeders into darkness.
Eskom disclosed that stolen conductor materials are often melted down and repurposed to make cooking pots.
Load reduction measures
The incident comes as Eskom intensifies efforts to manage pressures on transformers and mini-substations caused by electricity theft and illegal connections.
The company introduced targeted load reduction in major cities to protect equipment strained by illegal consumption.
Spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said the utility does not wish to impose load reduction but is forced to do so for safety reasons.
She explained that illegal connections and meter bypasses increase demand on distribution and leads to transformer explosions and network overloads.
“Zero Buyers” and meter audits
Eskom is also cracking down on “Zero Buyers,” customers who consume electricity without paying.
In an earlier report, the comapany spokeperson, Joyce Zingoni, said nationwide meter audits are underway and warned that illegal connections or tampered meters will attract fines.
Reports suggest around 1.7 million South Africans fall into this category. Many rely on unlegalised hookups, or uninstalled meters to access electricity.
Eskom warned that the practice undermines the economy, erodes its finances, and strains electricity supply.
Eskom continues to grapple with non-technical losses, including illegal connections, cable theft, and meter tampering.
In April 2024, these losses reached 14.4GWh in the 2022/23 financial year, costing the utility over R5.6 billion, or about R15 million per day.
The theft of cables, transformers, overhead lines, and conductors alone is estimated to cost Eskom around R2 billion annually,.
This further weakens the utility already battling load-shedding and infrastructure decay.
