Blackout chaos hits Meadowdale: businesses forced to close

The hum of generators filled the air in Meadowdale as businesses faced several consecutive days without power, grinding production and work to a halt.

Although some businesses could use generators, the lack of power forced others located along Albert Amon and Fleming roads to close their doors for the duration of the outage.

When The NEWS visited the site on August 12, businesses in the area had been without power for eight days.
On August 13, Ward 92 Clr Kade Guerreiro confirmed power was yet to be restored.

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He said this was one of the longest-lasting area outages in Meadowdale.

According to Guerreiro, a specialised team from the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) arrived on site on August 11, while the city appointed two contractors later that day.

“On August 12, the team detected two faults located on the main feeder line to the Rietcon substation.”

He said one fault was along Kroonhof Street, while another was near the substation itself.

“Although the city detected these faults, the challenge is that the businesses have waited eight days for this.”

Guerreiro said that because of the outage, many businesses in the area had to close their doors, while others had to spend thousands of rand keeping generators running.

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“One of the business owners I spoke to said they spent close to R60 000 on fuel during the eight days of the outage to keep the power on.

“The businesses that had to close their doors told me it is no work, no pay, and they had to send their staff home,” said Guerreiro.

According to Guerreiro, the administration in the city stated it was prioritising industrial areas to avoid job losses, and businesses remained open.

“Unfortunately, after several consecutive days with no power in one of Ward 92’s industrial areas, I am questioning the city. This is unacceptable,” he said.

Guerreiro said the area desperately needs electrical upgrades to promote economic growth.

He said that, although the cable will be repaired and the power will be restored, the infrastructure needs to be replaced and improved.

According to Guerreiro, the Meadowdale outage was not an isolated occurrence.

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He said the outage had a knock-on effect on a neighbouring suburb, Activia Park, where several large businesses, such as KSB Pumps, are located, leaving the area without power for several days too.

Speaking to The NEWS, local business owner Gerald Burrell, who runs a classic car restoration business in the affected area, said the outage has left him and his staff unable to work.

“Because there is no power, we cannot run the compressor and all our tools are air-driven,” explained Burrell.

He said the property’s landlord has a small generator installed on the premises, which allows for the provision of lights.

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Burrell said his staff were all working manually on the vehicles.

“There’s nothing we can do; all the tools we use need the compressor,” said Burrell.

He said that, as a business paying rent, he cannot afford to close his doors.

“This is a big issue.”

Guerreiro said the situation had left him feeling despondent. “As a councillor, it has always been important that the four industrial areas in Ward 92 be prioritised. We need the businesses to operate and be able to grow.”

He said the financial loss to the affected business owners and staff during the outage was unimaginable.

“It is disheartening because South Africa is facing the challenge of mass unemployment, and it is examples like this where the government should help to make these areas functional,” said Guerreiro.

The publication sent a request for comment to the CoE on August 13, requesting comment by August 15 at 13:30.

At the time of going to print, we received no comment.