Residents in parts of Langaville Ext 8 have raised concerns about ongoing electricity interruptions allegedly linked to a faulty circuit breaker based at the corner of Gauteng Road and Eastern Cape Road.

According to affected residents, power frequently switches on and off, causing inconvenience and concerns about possible damage to electrical appliances.

The ward councillor, Njabulo Mbonani, told African Reporter about the cause of the problem, efforts to resolve it and what residents can expect going forward.

He said that the matter was reported to the City of Ekurhuleni and has been following up on it daily.

“The circuit breaker has been a problem to the point that a resident has told me that their appliances have been damaged.”

“I have been updating the residents with the responses from the city, but now they are getting impatient, which I do not blame,” shared Mbonani.

One resident shared that when the breaker trips, they come to the box and switch it back on, which Mbonani highlighted as dangerous and could lead to electrocution.

Some residents have also claimed they were asked to contribute money towards replacing the circuit breaker.

Mbonani explained that he held a meeting with the affected households, where they suggested that they will look for someone to come and fix it for them.

“I indicated to them that it is not the right thing to do, as the power box is a property of the city and that any repairs should be done by a contractor of the city.”

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The area also suffers from power outages from time to time, which have lasted nearly 4 days, leading residents to block main roads by burning tyres.

One resident in Langaville Ext 8,, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that Mbonani has known about the electricity issues in the area since he entered office.

“Mbonani was told that the area is affected by electricity and that we need him to fix that, but he has not done anything.”

“It is winter now, and if we stay more than two days, what must we do because we have people who go to work and school children too? The only way that they listen to us is when we protest.”

The city’s spokesperson, Zweli Dlamini, told the publication that the challenges in the area are aggravated during the winter season, as demand exceeds supply due to overconsumption of electricity.

According to the metro, since the start of May, Langaville has experienced an average of 4 area outages per week, affecting different extensions, as there is no single electricity supply source for the area.

Dlamini indicated that the main challenge in Langaville is electricity theft.

“The department implements the meter normalisation programme where equipment has failed because of overloading.

“Meters are normalised before power is restored. This programme also aims at encouraging residents to pay for services rendered by the municipality.

“The department has also increased supply capacity by adding additional sources of supply. However, these interventions continue to be frustrated by ongoing illegal connections,” said the spokesperson.

Regarding the circuit breaker, Dlamini emphasised that no payment is required if the work falls within the city’s jurisdiction.