Power outages continue to plague households amidst heavy rains
Residents of eThekwini are facing constant disruptions, with many unable to carry out basic activities due to the extended power outages. Recent floods have escalated their frustration. This, according to opposition parties, is compounded by the lack of communication from the municipality about the real causes of these outages and failing infrastructure.
CONSECUTIVE weeks of battering rain in the city have left many households, schools and businesses in the dark. Power outages have affected the already frustrated residents of Glenwood, Umbilo, CBD, Morningside, South Beach and more.
The City of eThekwini has indicated that it was attending to the devastating matter. “The City apologises for current power outages and is working diligently to restore service. Despite challenges caused by wet terrain and storms, crews are prioritising repairs. The staff is following strict fault-finding and switching processes to ensure safety,” the City said. It further said that areas of priority would include low-hanging conductors, high and medium voltages and individual household faults.
Also read: City addresses extended power outages in Berea
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for immediate action to address the ongoing power outages in eThekwini.
“The DA in eThekwini calls on the municipality to urgently provide a clear plan of action amid ongoing power outages. The municipality has failed to communicate the causes of these outages and the timeline for resolution. This is as many communities have been experiencing outages for over a week. The city is facing a massive backlog in resolving the outages, causing immense hardship for residents,” said councillor Thabani Mthethwa, DA eThekwini Caucus Leader.
He added that the current management has no regard for the plight of the residents, and the DA would continue to put pressure on the municipality to take immediate action, restore electricity, and invest in maintaining the city’s infrastructure to ensure reliable and consistent service for all residents.
The City said that due to the extent of damages, they were asking everyone to bear with the Emergency Teams and Technical Teams as assessments of damages were being investigated and cleared up.
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