Illegal connections are Eskom reports that it is one of the leading causes of electricity-related injuries and deaths in South Africa.
This poses a risk not only to the person connecting the electricity illegally, but also to others in the community, as fires and electrocutions can occur.
In addition to these crippling charges, there are also costs for electric utilities and the municipalities they serve, which in turn impairs their ability to improve service delivery and repay their debts. However, leveraging Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions can help alleviate these.
Illegal electricity connections drain Eskom of 37GWh of electricity per day, costing the utility approximately R15 million per day. Although regular audits are conducted to identify and resolve these links, the situation is worsening. Power theft, including illegal connections, now accounts for 70% of Eskom's total energy losses, up from his 30% in 2022.
Additionally, urbanization creates new connections, putting a strain on networks and infrastructure. These two factors require technicians to create new connections, remove illegal connections, and often restore power due to infrastructure failures.
This goes far beyond normal operational maintenance and restoration processes and ultimately impacts service delivery. It also prevents funds and resources from improving and upgrading existing systems, resulting in countries being stuck in the old environment and unable to develop and move forward.
catch-22
Tackling illegal connections is part of Eskom's funding application for financial years 2023/2024 and 2024/2025, and data analysis to detect and resolve incidents is a strategy put forward by the utility. It is one of the This can be achieved through the deployment of IIoT solutions, which consist of internet-connected devices and advanced analytics platforms that process the data generated.
The real-time data collection and processing capabilities provided by these solutions, coupled with the large amounts of detailed data they generate, give utilities and local governments greater visibility and control over their power consumption. This can be used to extract what electricity is being consumed illegally and where, giving you actionable on-the-ground insight into what is happening within your electricity distribution network. At the same time, this technology allows us to audit and better understand our systems. This not only prevents energy and economic losses, but also ultimately saves lives.
As well as reducing the impact of illegal connections, IIoT has the potential to deliver broader economic and environmental benefits for Eskom and local authorities. This includes monitoring and maintaining remote assets to improve the reliability of electricity transmission and distribution, optimizing the distribution of electricity supply to reduce losses in the system, and This may include the redistribution of surplus energy into the grid.
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We are in a catch-22 situation. Unless the problem of illegal connections is resolved, universal access to electricity will never be possible and the strain on public finances will continue. IIoT solutions are not a panacea, but they can help deliver a smarter, safer and more sustainable energy future for South Africa.
- Author Dr Andrew Dixon is Head of Engineering for CBI-electric: Low Voltage.