NoRED plagued by illegal connections

THE illegal connection of electricity continues to be an ongoing concern for the Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (NoRED) despite measures in place to fine culprits with a steep N$9 000.

NoRED is mandated to supply and distribute electricity to the central-north and north-western, as well as Kavango East and West and Zambezi regions.

NoRED’s chief executive officer, Fillemon Nakashole, says as a result, the power supplier planned to conduct a meter survey, but it had to be put on hold due to Covid-19.

Nakashole says although all the regions NoRED supplies power to had incidents of electricity theft through illegal connections, Opuwo in the Kunene region has had the highest number of cases.

This was revealed by investigations conducted by the company.

“Electricity thieving appears in various forms, such as meter tampering, the selling of illegal prepaid vouchers, and illegal electricity connections,” he says.

“This situation increases operational costs and is also unsafe for those committing the crimes and for NoRED’s staff members, who work on the installation of electricity,” Nakashole says.

“The illegal connection situation continues. However, on a positive note, the company has apprehended several culprits who have indulged in such illegal activity. We are currently working on an intervention plan to ensure zero bypass connections across all our areas of operations.

“We are therefore appealing to all our stakeholders to assist NoRED against this chronic disease by reporting such incidents,” he says.