Thousands of residents and businesses in Palm Ridge and Sky City have been left without electricity after a devastating fire gutted a substation control room on Thursday, July 3.

The City of Ekurhuleni has launched an urgent investigation into the cause of the blaze, which has deepened frustrations in a community already grappling with longstanding infrastructure and service delivery failures.

According to Ekurhuleni’s DEMS, the fire tore through the ripple control room housing vital electrical breakers, leaving extensive damage in its wake.

“The actual cause of the fire is undetermined and is still under investigation by fire safety officers together with the City of Ekurhuleni electrical engineers,” said DEMS spokesperson William Tladi.

With no clear timeline for power restoration, thousands of households remain in the dark, and several local businesses have temporarily closed, citing the immense toll on operations and livelihoods.

Residents say the incident has only worsened a situation that has been simmering for years.

Community voices growing louder

Residents have expressed outrage, blaming the city’s inaction on illegal electricity connections as a root cause of the fire.

They claim over 1 500 illegal shacks from nearby informal settlements have been tapping into the electricity grid, many with impunity.

“We’ve raised this issue multiple times. We knew something like this would happen. People are paying between R300 and R350 a month to izinyoka-nyoka (illegal electricity operators), and it’s costing lives. At least four people have died recently due to unsafe connections,” said Sanele Buthelezi, a resident of Palm Ridge.

Political promises and delayed progress

Ekurhuleni’s MMC for Energy, Mzayifani Ngwenya, responded to the backlash, stating that the electrification of the Palm Ridge informal settlement, particularly of the informal settlement area, is a priority in the city’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP).

However, he admitted that delays are largely tied to incomplete human settlement developments.

“The delay in electrifying the informal settlement is human settlement-related. That’s why residents are seeing development in other areas while theirs is still on hold,” said Ngwenya.

Ngwenya said that electricity is the last step, as their department only comes in once infrastructure like water and sewer systems are in place.

He also acknowledged troubling reports of land being sold illegally and claims that community members were being asked to pay R2 000 to R10 000 for stand allocations.

“Some of the community leaders are telling people that they should give them money, as the area has been approved and will see development shortly,” he said.

Tensions continue to boil

Last month, Palm Ridge residents took to the streets in protest, demanding action over unfulfilled promises and highlighting the dangers of illegal power connections.

Despite the city’s assurances, the current outage has reignited tensions, with many accusing the municipality of neglect and a lack of urgency.

As frustrations mount, the Alberton Record has submitted an official query to the City of Ekurhuleni regarding the timeline for restoring power and the measures being taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.

For now, the residents of Palm Ridge wait in the dark-both literally and figuratively-amid unanswered questions and a growing demand for meaningful change.