Electricity issues gave rise to conflicts and divisions in Alexandra on Thursday, pitting residents who live only blocks apart against each other.

7th Avenue residents have been sitting in the dark for over three weeks, bearing the pain of seeing some avenues properly lit while they rely on candles to light their houses and gas to cook.

Resident Dikeledi Lerumo said that since their power went off weeks ago, the power utility has been insisting they pay R500 before replacing a damaged mini-substation supplying 7th Avenue.

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The conflict arose from the misinformed belief that City Power contractors were on 6th Avenue to replace a damaged mini-substation.

For some, this felt as though the utility was prioritising 6th Avenue residents over those on 7th Avenue, but according to Ward 107 councillor Floyd Ngwenya, that was not the case.

What the contractors were actually doing on 6th Avenue was continuing a long-standing electrification project by the human settlements department for the Vukani informal settlement.

The settlement has relied on unsafe informal connections to keep the lights on. Over time, this prompted the human settlements department to involve City Power in electrifying the area.

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Ngwenya said the two-year-old project stalled due to lack of funds.

“City Power finally managed to get the money from the human settlements department to continue with the project.

What happened today is that the project was supposed to continue with the installation of a box here along 6th Avenue because there is no space in Vukani. It has nothing to do with the residents of 6th Avenue.”

He noted that confusion arose because 7th Avenue residents believed the mini-substation was being installed for 6th Avenue. He called that a lie and said he wanted to rectify the misunderstanding.

Now, the Vukani project, already stalled due to finances, has once again been put on hold. Ngwenya told the project manager to pause until the current issues are clarified.

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Vukani residents remain frustrated at yet another delay. Some said they felt forced to come out and defend City Power’s project.

“We were obviously going to come out in numbers as Vukani residents because we have nothing to do with both the 6th and 7th Avenue boxes,” resident Rendani Makhado said.

Still, some 7th Avenue residents said they were opposed to any electricity-related work near 7th Avenue while their own homes remain without power.

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