Eskom has been accused of refusing to repair a power transformer that exploded in Diepsloot, leaving residents without electricity for over five weeks.
Community members said they have lost businesses and couldn’t keep warm because of the prolonged power outage.
Eskom has reportedly said it wouldn’t repair the damaged transformers in areas where people don’t pay for their electricity usage.
Community leader Papi Sathekge has admitted there were a lot of people who did not pay electricity.
“We need to confront our own issues of saying why are we having more illegal connections? Why are we having people who are not paying electricity so the police can be able to help with the JPMD and Eskom to make sure that things are in order in the area?”
Eskom couldn’t be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, Mashaba said the city would take up the issue of power outages in Diepsloot with Eskom.
Mashaba made the comments during his oversight visit in the area on Tuesday.
The mayor said there was not much the city could do because the area received power directly from Eskom.
It’s believed the explosion of the power transformer, which according to residents occurred frequently, was due to overloading.
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