Farmer up for R6m power 'theft'

It took 80 police officers to bust an 80-year-old farmer for allegedly an illegal electricity distribution system at his Foschville farm for the past six years, stealing power and selling it to residents of nearby informal settlements at a monthly fee.

Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said they had decided to get police escort because for years they were not able to access Johannes Moolman's farm to read meters as “people with heavy weapons” who guarded the farm always chased them away.

“He had the place heavily guarded hence we had about 80 SAPS members during the operation given the high risk.”

Once they got inside on Wednesday, they were not ready for what they saw because Mokwena said all along they did not know what exactly had been going on at Moolman's farm but did not expect him to be running such an operation.

“He had his own substation with wires everywhere going to the shacks at the nearby informal settlements which had meters and breakers. He was taking our supply and selling it to someone else.

“We don't know how much he was charging the residents of the informal settlements or whether they all had to pay a flat [rate].

“It was the first time we found an illegal redistribution. What we know is that in some instances people would put money together and someone would then steal a transformer, instal it for the residents and they then never have to pay for electricity.

“However, this... we have never seen it before,” Mokwena said.

According to Mokwena, the operation that Moolman ran on his farm led to an estimated financial loss of more than R6.6m for Eskom.

During the raid, authorities recovered critical infrastructure, including two transformers (2x100kVA and 1x50kVA) and 150 meter boxes belonging to City Power and Eskom," she said.

They also disconnected all 600 shacks that were connected to the power coming from the transformers in Moolman's farm.

National police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said Moolman, 80, was arrested and charged with tampering with essential infrastructure and malicious damage to property, including illegal redistribution and resale of electricity at his Fochville farm. He appeared in court on Wednesday and was expected back on December 10 for bail application.

Mokwena said they had been investigating Moolman since 2018 as they had to read his meter for billing purposes and that’s when they suspected that “something fishy” was happening on the farm.

“We would disconnect and he would reconnect himself,” she said.. 

Asked where and when the transformers found on Moolman's farm were stolen, Mokwena said they still need to investigate the serial numbers to determine where they were installed before.

“This case highlights the dangers and challenges Eskom faces in tackling illegal electricity usage and underlines the importance of joint efforts to combat electricity theft and ensure accountability. Furthermore, illegal connections jeopardize public safety, damage infrastructure and undermine the trust of stakeholders.

“Eskom remains focused on recovering financial losses caused by illegal activities and will utilise all legal avenues, including asset seizures from convicted individuals,” said Mokwena.

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