7th Avenue residents demand test of mini-substation
Councillor Floyd Ngwenya says the community insists City Power test their mini-substation in front of them, as doubts grow over whether it is truly damaged.
Ward 107 councillor Floyd Ngwenya says 7th Avenue residents, who have been without electricity for weeks, want City Power to test their mini-substation in their presence to confirm that it is indeed damaged.
Ngwenya explained that residents are adamant the box must be tested in front of them because they doubt it is no longer working. He noted that he has requested City Power to conduct a test run. “That is what I have requested from City Power as a councillor, and they have confirmed that they are going to come.”
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City Power confirmed it is aware of the outage, but noted it is linked it to infrastructure challenges, electricity consumption issues, and network normalisation.
“Efforts to resolve the matter are ongoing,” spokesperson Isaac Mangena said. “However, certain conditions related to the normalisation process and customer compliance must first be addressed before restoration can fully proceed.”
He added that illegal connections, meter bypassing, low electricity purchases, and excessive usage are among the challenges affecting restoration efforts.
Ngwenya pointed out that City Power requires residents to pay R500, or R200 for those on the extended social package, when a mini-substation burns out.
“Residents of 7th Avenue have never refused to pay. They are simply waiting for their box to be tested, just like any other.”
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The outage has heightened tensions between 7th Avenue and Vukani informal settlement residents, stalling Vukani’s electrification project. City Power confirmed that a transformer was delivered on-site to resume the long-delayed project, but community disruptions halted progress.
Ngwenya, who previously advised the contractor to pause work until tensions eased, said he recently met with the contractor. “The main contractor told us that once they are ready to bring back the box, they will do so.”
Mangena stressed that City Power cannot provide guarantees on the project’s completion timeline. “There is no confirmed timeframe for the resumption and completion of the project.”
He added that community members and stakeholders will be informed once clarity is available.
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