5 September 2024
An Eskom customer in need of service stands at the door of the closed offices at Kwagga Mall in Kwaggafontein, Mpumalanga. Photo: Warren Mabona
The closure by Eskom of its office at Kwaggafontein, Mpumalanga, in June has left customers in Thembisile Hani Local Municipality unable to report power supply problems in person. There are about 11,000 households according to the municipality’s website, and many residents said it used to be easy for them to report their supply problems directly at the Kwagga Mall office.
GroundUp was at the closed office on 29 August and 4 September, months after its closure. There were two security guards inside. A number of people, including elderly residents, came to report various supply problems while we were there. The first they knew of the closure was when a sign was pasted on the door.
The guards told customers to call Eskom’s contact centre or log their issue with Eskom’s internet chatbot, Alfred.
Johannes Masilela had travelled from Mandela village near KwaMhlanga to report a faulty meter box that had since last week rejected all the recharge tokens he’d purchased. He was upset that he had not been informed about the office closure after he had spent R46 on transport, and now he would have to buy airtime to call Eskom.
“I don’t know how to use this thing called Alfred,” said Eunice Msiza, a pensioner who had travelled from Buhlebesizwe village. “I don’t even know how to connect my phone to the internet. I want to report my problems here at Eskom offices.”
In a media statement, Eskom said it was aware of concerns raised about the closure of its customer hub, but it had migrated to digital platforms, a process started during the Covid lockdown. These include Eskom contact centre, MyEskom App, Alfred Chatbot, a self-service App and USSD platform.
Eskom said its contact centre was an enduring channel which had been used to assist customers throughout the years and continues to be a primary contact for its services.
When Eskom closed similar customer hubs in Cape Town there was an outcry and hundreds of angry Khayelitsha residents marched to Eskom’s offices, demanding it re-open its service centres. The City also criticised the closure and said it had experienced a surge in complaints about power supply issues.