The aforementioned reasons were given by the Ekurhuleni metro spokesperson, Themba Gadebe, after the Advertiser recently published an online article, ‘Unsecured electrical boxes seemingly commonplace in Boksburg’.
Local resident Clive Watkins attributed the degeneration of both business and residential electrical reticulation equipment to “the contracting out of electrical services” by the Ekurhuleni metro.
“Meter boxes and mini substations with no locks, doors missing or hanging on a hinge are commonplace; all of them expose lethal, live conductors,” Watkins previously said.
Driving around town, reporters from the Advertiser spotted a number of unsecured electricity boxes.
“Brass locks are used to lock the electrical boxes. The Ekurhuleni metro moved to plastic locks; however, they were also stolen for scrap value or illegal reconnections,” said Gadebe.
As part of the metro’s multi-year project, protective structures in the form of new boxes will be installed in hotspot areas.
