A most unwelcome electricity pole in her bedroom

23-04-2014
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A property owner in Hammanskraal may have to put her dream of moving into her new home on hold because of an electricity pole standing majestically in the middle of the property

Emily Ngobeni has been at loggerheads with power utility Eskom since builders moved on to the property she had acquired in 2011 and started work.

Ngobeni is building a nine-roomed house and had envisaged being able to move in early in June.

However, the builders have hit a brick wall in the form of an electricity pole in the middle of the site of one of the bedrooms. The pole supplies power to at least three other properties in the vicinity.

While construction of the rest of the house is proceeding smoothly and gradually nearing completion, one room to be located near the main gate and a garage cannot be built without first removing the pole. Ngobeni said when she bought the property, the previous owner indicated she had never tried to have it removed. The property was part of a bigger plot that was subsequently subdivided and sold.

'I immediately contacted Eskom and requested that the pole be moved,' Ngobeni told the Pretoria News. 'I was shocked when they informed me that removing the pole would cost me a whopping R47 000. Eskom is refusing to accept responsibility for this mess.'

The drama did not end there - following countless meetings with the local Eskom authorities, Ngobeni said an official was sent to assess the situation with the purpose of having the pole removed.

'What followed was another silence. When I contacted them again this week to ask if the pole would be moved now that the Easter holidays had passed, I was told the report from the person who assessed the positioning of the pole was still outstanding.

'However, the officials still insist that I would have to pay for the removal of the pole, and that the cost would now be R50 000.'

Ngobeni said she did not have that money and would not qualify for a bank loan. 'Besides, why should I pay for the removal of this pole? This should not be my responsibility,' she said.

The Pretoria News contacted Eskom numerous times to seek clarification about the removal of poles and the related cost.

The utility indicated it was investigating the matter, but a comment was still pending at the time of going to print.

Last November, Eskom was ordered by the Pretoria High Court to remove a set of offending pole structures from a private property in Midrand.

The power utility had proposed the installation of a compliant alternative structure, but the property owner rejected its proposal.

The line was eventually disconnected, which Eskom indicated would weaken the area's power supply risk.