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Emasimini, an extension of Kwaggafontein - A in the Thembisile Hani Municipal area in Mpumalanga, was opened to the community for occupation in 2011. The Emasimini community was electrified by Eskom in this financial year (2017/18). A total of 488 households were energised by the end of October 2017.

Eskom Customer Services visited the area early in December 2017 to educate its new customers about the safe use of electricity. Many of the houses in this area are single-room shacks with substandard and unsafe electrical wiring. With the door-to-door visit approach, Eskom Guardians educated the new customers on the safety aspects of electricity wiring, cables and cords.

It was explained how wiring with worn-out cables can energise a whole shack and result in a fatal contact incident. Safety tips shared included not using plastic bags and or any kind of adhesive tape to cover and join fraying cables; to remove speaker cables which most customers used to connect lights and to use multi-plugs to avoid overloading.

Many customers indicated with enthusiasm that their salaries will go into buying electrical appliances and to buying proper cables for safe wiring. Those who already had electrical appliances and had adhered to safe installations, asked about the cost of upgrading from 20amp (ampere) to 60amp. All new customers displayed gratitude for finally having access to electricity and committed to using it safely and efficiently.

Eskom continues to commit in improving the lives of all South Africans by connecting and providing reliable electricity. Eskom would like to encourage customers to respect electricity by not tampering with meter boxes and to refrain from buying ghost units. Most importantly, Eskom values the safety of its customers and strive for Zero Harm.

No safety incident is taken lightly. “We know how much electricity can change a life of a family for the better, but we also know how dangerous electricity can be for the same family. This is why we do not just electrify a household without properly educating them on the safe use of electricity. As soon as a new customer has been electrified, we send our Customer Service agents to educate our new customers on the benefits, risks and safe use associated with electricity”, said Eskom’s Distribution Manager in Mpumalanga, Ms Phil Khumalo.

Issued by Eskom