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outlets mainly in Harare as cooking oil for frying chips and other food items, posing a serious health hazard to consumers.
This was revealed yesterday following the arrest of 19 people accused of stealing transformer oil worth US$300 000, leaving over 3000 households in Harare without electricity.
Anyone arrested for possession, stealing or vandalising Zesa Holdings infrastructure can be jailed for not less than 10 years.
The power utility’s spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira said transformer oil was on high demand and was also being sold to motorists for use as a fuel blender.
He, however, said the oil was highly corrosive to engines and would cause serious damage.
“Others operating some backyard fastfood outlets use the oil as cooking oil for frying, posing a health hazard to consumers. The oil does not have a distinct smell and people can eat food prepared with it without suspecting anything,” he said.
According to Internet reports, mineral oil is different from vegetable cooking oil because the former is made from petroleum.
It is very stable at high temperatures, making it better for frying but it can be toxic.
Others use the highly refined transformer oil in jelly stoves and when heated, it stays longer because it has a high boiling point.
Mr Gwasira said the mineral oil was stable at high temperatures and had excellent electrical insulating properties.
He said if not vandalised, a transformer could last for up to 30 years without any repairs except changing the oil.
“We understand they use it because it’s a good coolant and it doesn’t evaporate and lasts longer,” he said.
However, Mr Gwasira warned oil thieves of the consequences.
“Tampering with electricity infrastructure attracts a minimum 10-year sentence under the Electricity Act,” Mr Gwasira said.
He said the suspects were arrested in Glen View and the Southerton area known as Green Trees following an operation to safeguard and protect its infrastructure code-named “No to Vandalism of Zesa Structures.”
The operation was launched in Harare yesterday.
The suspects were arrested while selling oil believed to have been stolen from Zesa Holdings transformers in the capital during a raid, which involved the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Environmental Management Agency.
Over 1 000 litres of transformer oil were recovered.
Mr Gwasira said the power utility lost over US$1,6 million due to theft and vandalism of its transformers since last month.
“Since July 1, this year we have lost close to US$300 000 due to theft of transformer oils while last month alone we lost US$1,6 million to theft of equipment, transformer oils and conductors,” Mr Gwasira said.
He said the suspects, aged between 25 and 30 years would soon appear in court to answer charges of vandalism and sabotage as well as contravening the Environmental Act for selling fuel in the open.
Mr Gwasira said Zesa Holdings was battling to ensure that the nation had power while some unscrupulous people were vandalising infrastructure resulting in many households being plunged into darkness.
He said it costs over US$20 000 to replace a single transformer and since the beginning of the month, the power utility lost at least 30 transformers.
Mr Gwasira said Zesa Holdings had over 6 000 substations in Harare alone and it was difficult to ensure that all these stations were secured and this required the help of the public.
He said vandalism was severe and had reached alarming levels.
“Vandalism is contributing immensely to power cuts and there is need for the public to assist Zesa Holdings protect and safeguard its infrastructure,” he said.
Five people have been electrocuted while stealing transformer oil this year alone.
Zesa Holdings has lost millions of dollars to theft and vandalism of its infrastructure including transformers, theft of underground and overhead cables, which are sold to scrap metal dealers.
Other utilities affected by theft and vandalism of infrastructure are the National Railways of Zimbabwe, Tel-One and the City of Harare.
The indirect costs of cable theft included loss of income, the destruction of essential services, labour costs to repair the affected networks as well as security measures.
Theft of transformer oil is also common in Zambia and Tanzania costing the electricity supply companies millions of dollars to replace damaged transformers.
Online Reporter