A municipal standby electrician was held hostage and beaten at the 11kV substation near the Eskom switching yard in Ermelo last Tuesday.

Not only did this leave the electrician injured, but it also resulted in delays in restoring power supply to certain areas.

According to Mandla Zwane, the spokesperson for the Msukaligwa Local Municipality, the electrician, Phakamile Aubrey Mbuli, was on duty at the substation when he was confronted by unknown assailants for some unknown reason.

The attackers held him captive and subjected him to physical assault before eventually releasing him.

Mbuli went to the hospital for medical attention.

Read the complete article in Highvelder.