Matla power station
State-owned power utility Eskom reports that one of the two accused suspects in a case involving critical infrastructure tampering has been convicted at the Kriel Magistrate Court and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment.
The two suspects were arrested on February 24, 2022, on suspicion of stealing copper bars and installed copper at a substation in Mpumalanga. Eskom used drone surveillance to confirm the crime and suspects involved.
Both suspects were granted bail, but the convicted suspect remained in custody since the day of the arrest until sentencing. The other accused has a warrant of arrest out for him.
Eskom has commended the utility’s internal security investigations and the South African Police Services’ detectives, who helped to bring these perpetrators to book.
The utility urges the public to report suspicions of illegal electricity sales, fraud and theft of coal, fuel oil and diesel, as well as infrastructure theft and vandalism to 0800 112 722.