Power outages due to theft, vandalism

This was stated by the member of the mayoral committee for finance in the city, Clr Geoffrey Makhubo, during his recent budget speech.

City Power was recently allocated an operating budget of R13.2-billion and a multiyear capital budget of R7.3-billion. Clr Makhubo said the main programmes to be undertaken include the refurbishment of ageing infrastructure and investment in new bulk infrastructure in various areas.

Over the past few months, several people raised concerns about power outages in areas such as Kensington and Cyrildene.

Several people were left without electricity on several occasions, the latest of which lasted more than 24 hours last week. This affected residents in Malvern and Kensington.

A resident, who did not want her name published, said she had been without electricity for at least 28 hours when speaking to the EXPRESS.

“I struggled throughout the night in the dark. I tried to contact the call centre to find out what was happening but I had to hold. The voice recording stated the lines were busy. It was pitch black at night. The alarm was of no use because the battery was dead. Old people are suffering in the cold during power outages,” she said.

According to Clr Carlos da Rocha, the ward 66 councillor, a transformer blew at a substation in Cleveland resulting in the power outage.

He said City Power workers were working around the clock to address the problem by fitting a new transformer. The EXPRESS tried to contact Mr Louis Pieterse and Mr Sol Masolo from City Power, as well as forwarded an enquiry to them. At the time of going to print, no further details about the outage were forwarded to the EXPRESS.

During his budget speech, Clr Makhubo said, “Many of the outages we experience are due to theft and vandalism. We are investing in a comprehensive system to deal with the issues of vandalism and cable theft, including alarm monitoring devices.”

Residents in suburbs such as Malvern and Cyrildene have raised concerns about cable theft on numerous occasions. Some areas which face constant cable theft include Aida Avenue and Cooper Street in Cyrildene.

Clr Makhubo also said to protect and safeguard future revenue and ensure sustainability in the use of electricity, the city will invest in replacing obsolete meters with prepaid units and automated pre-paid, smart meters, city-wide.”

@JoziReporter