Residents of Delville and Galway Street have urgently appealed to the City of Ekurhuleni after enduring a month of ongoing power outages.

Households say the severe disruption has left them distressed, vulnerable, and desperate for answers.

According to the community, they have gone 26 days without electricity, with power restored for only three of those days.

The first formal complaint was lodged on October 16 under reference number 0420 of 2025/10/16 for an outage at 71 Elsburg Road. Despite repeated follow-ups, the problem remains unresolved.

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“Last week, residents were shocked to receive notifications that their complaint cases had been ‘closed’ and marked as ‘resolved,’ even though our homes were still without electricity,” said Delville resident Judith de Meyer.

She added that the gap between reported fixes and the reality on the ground has deepened frustration.

Community members have repeatedly sought assistance and accountability, contacting several municipal departments and officials, including a call centre team leader and a manager in the Energy Department.

Many residents have cellphone records and email trails documenting multiple attempts to communicate, including unanswered emails sent directly to the Mayor’s office.

The crisis escalated on October 23, when residents turned to local community groups, including the DA platform, to report that they had already been without power for five consecutive days.

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“Since then, the outages have continued with no clear explanation or timeline for resolution,” De Meyer said.

For some families, the consequences have been life-threatening. One resident, whose father is under hospice care and dependent on oxygen, said the prolonged power cuts put his father’s life at risk.

“Backup power systems have been completely depleted, leaving the household in a dangerous and emotionally exhausting situation.”

Residents also reported illegal electrical connections in the area, yet claim there has been no visible municipal investigation or intervention despite these reports.

The community says the recurring issues highlight deeper problems: a lack of communication, accountability, urgency, and transparency from the City of Ekurhuleni.

They are now calling on municipal leadership to prioritise the Delville area, address the prolonged outages, and provide clear public updates.

Residents have also appealed to Germiston City News and other media outlets to spotlight the situation, hoping public attention will pressure the municipality to take meaningful action.

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“Our residents are exhausted, frustrated, and losing faith in the systems meant to serve us. We deserve reliable service delivery and basic dignity, and we are asking for help to make our voices heard,” said one community member.

The area’s Neighbourhood Watch confirmed that it has been meeting monthly since January with SAPS, EMPD, the CPF, and other municipal departments to address long-standing service delivery issues. Despite these efforts, little to no tangible action has followed.

According to the organisation, the Delville substation has been deteriorating for more than four years, describing it as “waiting to collapse.”

Minor interventions such as cleaning or replacing a breaker have been likened to “putting a plaster on a broken arm instead of proper treatment.” Community leaders warn that this lack of meaningful action directly contributes to repeated electrical failures, illegal connections, and infrastructure strain.

“As a citizen looking out for all our people, including the disabled, elderly, and vulnerable, it has become impossible to live a dignified existence,” said Aubrey Fouche. “I care for three disabled SASSA beneficiaries, myself included, and we are pleading for help.”

With documented meetings, logged reference numbers, and repeated attempts to seek intervention, some residents say they are now preparing to pursue legal action.

They note that South African law allows residents to take a municipality to court if it fails to fulfil legal obligations or infringes constitutional rights.

“It is within our right to pursue legal action. If our cries fall on deaf ears constantly, then it is time to set a precedent,” said Fouche.

Germiston City News sent a formal request for comment to the City of Ekurhuleni’s media team on November 12, seeking clarity on the causes of the prolonged outage and the expected restoration time.

The deadline for response was November 14 at 12:00. At the time of going to print, no comment had been received.