GEORGE NEWS - The George Municipality continues to urge residents to stop making illegal power connections as this can jeopardise the safety of people and hamper service delivery. This follows after a large part of Zone 7 and 8 in Thembalethu experienced power outages last week when fuses blew due to illegal connections on the electricity lines.
The municipality was forced to cut the power and remove all illegal connections from the line before power could be restored.
Municipal spokesperson Chantel Edward-Klose said the removal of the illegal connections was required prior to any repair work being undertaken on the affected transformers. "According to the OHS Act, the municipality has a responsibility to maintain a safe electrical network and may therefore not reinstate power unless all illegal connections on the line have been cleared. The final transformer was restored on Saturday 2 November," said Edwards-Klose.
Four people in the area have died due to illegal connections in the past year. Two of them were children, the most recent one a three-year-old girl who was electrocuted in Dube Village, Thembalethu, on Wednesday 16 October.
"Stealing electricity is very dangerous for everyone - not just for the ones making connections, but for every person and animal within the illegal connection zone. Children are especially vulnerable as they are curious and likely to explore and dig out electricity lines or try to open up rigged boxes and interesting-looking wires," said the municipality's acting director of Electrotechnical Services, Paul Gerber.
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