Eskom says it has spent years trying to reach an agreement with the Lion Park community in Camperdown, near Pietermaritzburg, to establish a legal electricity supply, but negotiations have repeatedly failed due to land ownership and zoning challenges.
The utility was responding after residents barricaded major roads with burning tyres and rocks following the disconnection of illegal electricity connections to nearly 2,000 households in the area.
According to Eskom, the community has been illegally connected to the electricity network since 2014, resulting in estimated annual losses exceeding R12 million.
Eskom Senior Manager for Retail Dade Mbhele said the utility has held several engagements with the trust responsible for the land, but no agreement has been reached.
Mbhele explained that the property is held under a trust and is currently zoned for agricultural use, preventing Eskom from providing formal individual electricity connections.
He said Eskom had proposed a temporary bulk electricity supply while the community worked to resolve the zoning issues, but the offer had not been accepted.
"We have been dealing with the trust responsible for the area. We have had several engagements because we cannot continue with a situation where electricity worth more than R12 million is being consumed illegally by the community. We have put several offers on the table, including providing a temporary bulk supply while the zoning process is being finalised, but there has been no success," Mbhele said.
Residents, however, have rejected Eskom's claims that they have not cooperated, insisting they have made repeated efforts to secure legal electricity connections.
Community representative Sandile Ndlovu said residents have held numerous meetings with Eskom and have documentary evidence, including email correspondence, to support their attempts to resolve the matter.
Ndlovu claimed the community's applications for legal electricity have been delayed because of an ongoing land ownership dispute involving local trusts.
He also expressed concern about the impact of the power cuts on vulnerable residents, including elderly people who rely on electricity for medication and medical equipment.
"It is deeply concerning for the community because we have had several meetings with Eskom and we have proof through emails. It seems there are obstacles preventing our efforts to obtain legal electricity. We have elderly residents who depend on medication, yet those realities are being ignored. We are not refusing to pay for electricity," Ndlovu said.
Eskom says it remains committed to engaging with the community to find a lawful solution while continuing its efforts to curb illegal electricity connections that place strain on the power network and result in significant financial losses.