Illegal electricity connections hit Serule
Onalenna Kelebeile | Thursday February 2, 2017 15:18
It has been established that some homes recharged for about only P10 way back in 2013 and have never recharged, though their homes continue to consume electricity without a hitch to this day.
The cash-strapped Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) has been hit by illegal connections of electricity where bogus electricians bypass the meters to supply customers with power.
A team of experts from BPC is currently in the village assisting the police to establish the extent of the problem and identify more culprits that have by-passed the meters. Some of the homes were allegedly even operating businesses that consume a lot of electricity like welding.
This has led to the arrest of a male resident on Tuesday who is remanded in custody at the Serule police station to assist the police with investigations.
Serule police station commander, Superintendent Lesole Mosimane confirmed the illegal tapping practice and confirmed the arrest of one resident.
He added that their investigations have identified five homes so far.
“The culprit is not an electrician by profession but just a member of the community and he tampers with connections already done by electricians. What he does is that he bypasses the meters so that the electricity current flows freely,” he said. Mosimane also said that they have learnt that the culprit has entered into agreements with homeowners.
He said it is a first case of its nature and it shows that the trend has been going on as far back as 2013.
“A team of BPC experts is in the village as we speak and is assisting us with the technical know-how.
The appearance of the culprit in court will be determined by the outcome of the investigations and confirmation by BPC that indeed illegal connections have taken place,” he said. He warned residents about the dangers of tampering with electricity, especially by those not qualified in the field.
He urged other homeowners who connected illegally to come forward before any danger could happen. “We are currently experiencing continued power cuts in the village and this practice could be one of the contributing factors.
This should be a wake up call to BPC to seriously monitor their connections to identify homes that have not been recharging their electricity,” he said.
He also confirmed that all the homes in question have been disconnected from the supply and that BPC is currently doing calculations to see how much each of them owes from the last recharge.
Area engineer, Kesejwang Setlabosha noted that they received a report from Serule and it was being handled by the corporation’s risk management team for investigations.
She added that their team started working on the issue towards the end of January and they are yet to submit a report as to how many homes are affected.
She indicated that illegal connection is a common problem indicating that their rough audit last year discovered 10 homes in Botshabelo area in Selebi-Phikwe that were involved in the illegal practice.
“We do charge the culprits and bill them for the whole period they would have been illegally connected and then disconnect them until they settle the bills,” she said.
Setlabosha explained that illegal connections mostly happen when culprits tamper with the metres and said they are able to identify some culprits during their audits where they will discover the homes that have not been recharging.
She said in some cases it results from faulty metres. She said in some cases BPC employees are involved and internal disciplinary measures are taken.
She regretted that such illegal practices cost BPC a lot of money.
Serule councillor, Meshack Mabutho said they have resolved that he, the BPC and the police conduct a check of the whole village next week because it appears that more homes are involved.
He warned residents that stealing electricity is not good as it seriously affects the already cash-strapped BPC and will subsequently lead to job losses.
He urged them to report such cases to the relevant authorities.