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Some of the most common forms of electricity theft are meter tampering or bypass,
and illegal connections. There is another unusual and very discrete form of electricity
theft within the prepayment environment, where the Credit Dispensing Units (CDUs)
are stolen and electricity tokens sold to the utilities’ customers, but the revenue
does not reach the utilities’ coffers. This type of crime is usually done by criminal
syndicates who prey on consumers. The syndicates will use runners who recruit customers
by promising them electricity at reduced prices e.g. half price (buy electricity
worth R200 for R100). Perpetrators should be warned – Eskom is watching.
It may be ’cheaper’ to buy prepaid electricity vouchers from gangs who have stolen
units (CDU’s) that dispense these vouchers, but these “ghost” CDUs take money that
is needed to maintain South Africa’s electricity supply, and fund the electrification
programmes in rural and underdeveloped areas.
So, those who are paying criminals for electricity should stop right now and report
them instead.
Cable theft also literally takes the power out of the hands of all electricity consumers.
It may seem hopeless to try to stop powerful syndicates, but even the most powerful
can be brought to justice. The anonymous Primedia Crimeline (SMS to 32211) empowers
people to stop “electricity criminals” in their tracks.
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