Illegal connections cutting power to schools in South Africa

Illegal electricity connections in the Western Cape have resulted in repeated power outages at schools in the province. Eskom has restored power to one school while another continues to experience extended power cuts.

This is causing learning disruptions at the Inkazimlo Primary School. However, Eskom officials are devising a plan to solve the school’s power issues.

Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa provided details about the issues at the two schools in response to parliamentary questions from EFF MP Ntombovuyo Veronica Mente-Nkuna.

“The Inkazimlo Primary School has been experiencing repeated faults due to illegal connections, as a result of the community from the informal settlement directly connecting on the Eskom connection,” the minister stated.

“This results in the Low Voltage (Morsdorf) fuses blowing up and thus, affecting the school.”

He added that the Customer Network Centre would explore the option of relocating the transformer to the school’s premises.

Ramokgopa said a similar move at the Noxolo Xauka Primary School in Eskom’s 2022/23 financial year had solved the school’s power challenges.

“The Customer Network Centre relocated a transformer into the school premises as some members of the community were connecting themselves illegally,” he said.

“This alleviated the repeated faults that the school used to experience. It has been quiet since the relocation of the transformer.”

Illegal connections have also been highlighted as a primary contributor to the need for load reduction in some areas of the country.

These connections increase the risk of overloading due to the disproportional demand for electricity on local networks. This can cause significant damage to infrastructure, including transformer explosions.

Illegally connected households and businesses siphon power from local grids by connecting directly to transformers or bypassing their electricity meters.

Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said these illegal activities cost the power utility roughly R2 billion in monthly revenue, confirming MyBroadband’s earlier estimates.

The Key Revision Number (KRN) 2 rollover programme in late 2024 revealed that roughly 2.1 million residents consume electricity without paying for it. Eskom terms these residents “zero buyers”.

It appealed to these residents to come forward and update their meters without fear of prosecution.

Around 400,000 zero buyers became paying customers, leaving roughly 1.7 million who are still consuming electricity without paying.

Eskom employees get violently attacked over illegal connections

In late February 2025, Ramokgopa revealed that Eskom employees are at high risk of being violently attacked by community members when they move to disconnect their illegal connections.

He said the power utility and its security partners conduct threat and risk assessments and deploy South African Police Services (SAPS) resources in high-risk areas before technicians can move in.

“Eskom security departments have established security contracts which include escorting Eskom employees intending to execute work in high-risk areas and the removal of illegal connections on a small scale,” Ramokgopa said.

The power utility’s security department begins by conducting a risk assessment, scanning areas with illegal connections to spot potential threats.

“Once the security department has concluded the threat and risk assessment, the SAPS District Commanders are approached to initiate plans and mobilise resources to protect Eskom employees,” the minister said.

SAPS District Commanders’ offices take the lead in planning such operations with the assistance of the District Public Order Policing.

The risk of harm to Eskom technicians resulted in it taking six years to take down an illegal electricity operation in Leeupoort, Gauteng.

It finally raided the property — a farm in the area providing illegal electricity to over 600 informal households — along with law enforcement in December 2024.

The power utility estimates that the illegal electricity operation cost it R6.6 billion in lost revenue.