Erongo RED warns public

Erongo RED has released a press statement regarding the uncovered fraud scheme involving six members of the public and an electrical contractor. It is alleged that prepaid electricity meters had been manipulated not to register electricity usage against the units programmed onto the devices. The statement reads:

“ Bypassing of Electricity Prepaid Boxes
As part of the routine spot checks on prepaid meters, the Energy Management and Revenue Protection Section of Erongo RED detected unusual purchasing patterns on some of our residential customers in Walvis Bay. In addition to this, Erongo RED received a tip-off from a local resident about a certain individual who was bypassing pre-paid meters of certain customers.
This prompted Erongo RED to appoint a private investigator to assist in identifying the culprits who are involved in this practice. The findings of the investigation have been submitted to the Namibian Police in Walvis Bay for further investigation. Erongo RED will co-operate with the Police in this ongoing investigation.
Erongo RED wishes to caution the members of the public from tampering with electrical apparatuses; paying someone to tamper with electrical apparatuses or attempt to bypass meters in order to avoid paying for the electricity used. Erongo RED will continue to put strategies in place aimed at combating energy losses through fraudulent activities. This includes customer education through awareness campaigns, instilling a culture of payment for services, suspension of illegal connections, fines for those found tampering with electrical apparatuses as well as laying charges against such individuals as part of our revenue protection interventions.
At Erongo RED, we uphold the principles of good corporate governance and we pride ourselves in ensuring that we execute our mandate to bring “electricity to all by 2020”. We wish to request members of the public to assist us in combating these fraudulent activities by reporting any suspicious connections at their nearest Police Station or call our Call Centre at 0819600.”