State-owned power utility Eskom urges households, businesses and communities to prioritise electricity safety and to report and avoid dangerous electrical hazards.

Illegal connections and exposed wires can electrocute people, start fires, overload the network and damage critical infrastructure, it cautions.

Members of the public are urged to treat every exposed or suspicious electrical connection as dangerous and to report it immediately to Eskom or the relevant local municipality, the utility says.

Poorly installed, overloaded or tampered electrical lines remain among the biggest contributors to fires in informal settlements and residential areas.

Early reporting can prevent fires, protect children and families, reduce unplanned outages and support a safer, more reliable electricity network.

“The removal of illegal connections by Eskom teams is to protect communities, our employees working to make it safe and the electricity network. While disconnections can be difficult for affected communities, Eskom’s priority is to prevent harm and save lives,” says Eskom Occupational Health and Safety senior manager Miranda Moahlodi.

“We urge communities to support the safe removal of illegal connections so that this essential work can continue, which protects the community and helps to ensure every worker can return home safely each day.”

Electricity is essential to everyday life. However, unsafe use, illegal connections, exposed conductors and tampered infrastructure continue to place communities, employees and contractors at serious risk, she says.

South Africa continues to face serious electricity safety risks, including low-hanging and exposed wires, and risks created through illegal connections, cable theft and infrastructure vandalism, as well as attacks on electricity workers.

Eskom has reported around 200 public safety impacts linked to electricity-related incidents. It remains concerned that many more incidents may go unreported where communities protect the illegal connections responsible for many of these hazards.

“When communities see a fallen or low-hanging wire, an open electrical box, a damaged meter box, a vandalised transformer, or unsafe connections that run through trees, across streets or over rooftops, they must immediately move away, warn others and report the hazard,” says Moahlodi.

Vandalism, cable theft and illegal electricity operations can cause extended outages, damage essential services, and expose communities, employees and contractors to potentially fatal risks. Protecting electricity infrastructure protects lives and livelihoods.

“We can create safer communities, homes and workplaces. Your report could prevent an injury, save a life and help keep South Africa’s electricity infrastructure safe and reliable,” she says.