By Motshwari Mo Mofokeng |
The KwaDukuza Municipality is carrying out thorough audits, upgrading meters, and reforming billing to tackle electricity losses estimated at over R1.2 billion.
Residents and community groups expressed worries after data from local organizations indicated that almost 30% of the electricity bought from Eskom in the last three years was not charged to consumers.
These statistics were gathered by civic groups, including the KwaDukuza Organised Residents Alliance.
Warwick Chapman, chairperson of the KwaDukuza Residents Forum, mentioned that the losses highlight significant problems with billing systems, electricity meters, or unrecorded power usage.
The municipality’s analysis estimates electricity losses to be between 26% and 27%, linking the issue to illegal connections, faulty meters, billing mistakes, and technical losses in the distribution network.
Municipal spokesperson Bridget Shange noted that audits of 493 major electricity users have already led to the recovery of over R24 million in previously unbilled usage.
She added that the audit process uncovered 300 defects, which have been fixed, and 118 accounts were marked for back-billing after it was discovered that electricity usage had been under-recorded.
The municipality has also started large-scale meter audits, replacements, and system upgrades to enhance electricity measurement and improve monitoring of the distribution network.
A report on these actions is set to be presented to the municipal council later this month.
