Power outages disrupt local economy in Germiston
The City of Ekurhuleni attributes the outages to infrastructure vandalism and cable faults.
Frequent power outages continue to disrupt businesses in Germiston, with the Mosaic Funeral Group among those hardest hit.
Located on Victoria Street, the mortuary service is struggling to maintain operations due to the ongoing electricity issues.
Christa Meiring, manager of the Mosaic Funeral Group, revealed that in August, the company had to purchase a new cable after the original one was stolen.
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“We had to hire a private contractor to reconnect us because the City of Ekurhuleni never responded.
“The cable cost us R4 500, and we paid the contractor R3 000,” Meiring explained.
Despite the new connection, the business lost power again shortly afterwards.
The funeral home has since resorted to using generators, costing R2 800 per 24-hour cycle to keep fridges operational.
A smaller generator to power the office costs an additional R900 per day.
“These expenses were unplanned, and we are now operating at a significant financial loss,” Meiring said.
Mary Ndlovu, a teacher at Saint Mary’s Childcare Centre, echoed the frustration, stating that the centre is forced to teach children in the dark.
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“We rely on gas stoves to warm water and food. Every year around this time, we face the same issue,” Ndlovu added.
The City of Ekurhuleni attributes the outages to infrastructure vandalism and cable faults.
Spokesperson Zweli Dlamini confirmed that cable theft and faults frequently disrupt services.
“Power outages affect all customers, including mortuaries, but businesses are advised to have alternatives in place,” Dlamini said.
When asked about compensation for businesses like mortuaries facing operational losses, Dlamini explained that claims can be submitted to the Finance Department, and each case will be evaluated individually.
He urged the community to report vandals and cable thieves, noting that the city is committed to maintaining infrastructure and allocates funds for this purpose annually.
