ONE thousand three hundred and seventy-five.
That is the number of power cuts Ekurhuleni homes have experienced in the past eight months. This average a total of six outages a day.
These are the statistics revealed in a reply to DA Member of Parliament, Mike Waters’, parliamentary questions. The numbers were presented in a table that mapped out the figures from January until August.
The reasons for the cuts?
Waters was told “the reasons are currently being established”.
“The frustration these outages place on families is unacceptable with many not being able to bath and cook food, while businesses also suffer due to lost productivity which has a potential for job losses,” Waters said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Birchleigh North residents have been feeling the pinch the most, having their electricity off about three to four times a week.
Birchleigh North ext 2 resident and Whatsapp administrator for Malvina Road Residents’ Watch, Solomon Makgoke, said the past two weeks they had no communication from the municipality to residents.
“Since about two weeks ago, the lights started going off. The first time was a Sunday night. The lights went off from 7.30pm until the next day, Monday at about 4.10pm, and this went on for the next couple of days.
“On October 25 at about 12.40am, the power went off for a few hours and yet again on Sunday, October 26, just before 9pm,” Makgoke said.
The main concern for the residents is that with lights being off in the middle of the night, it might make it easier for criminals to attack.
“My main concerns are the residents’ security due to being left in total darkness, which is also affecting our alarm systems, as well as the increasing number of damaged appliances which had to be repaired as a result of these cut-offs,” Makgoke explained.
Waters emphasised that providing electricity to residents and businesses was one of the core responsibilities of the metro, and if they failed to provide this service, “residents should be seriously asking whether the current governing party is fit to remain in office”.
“I will be asking follow up questions in parliament in order to determine what the causes are of the astronomical number of outages.”
Over 2 000 power outages in Ekurhuleni in one year
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