GLEN Marais residents were left with lots of damage following a power surge on the night of January 22.
It will cost one resident close to R5 000 to replace his damaged appliances.
The resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was first woken by what sounded like an explosion when the surge occurred at midnight.
“Then there was a very bad smell after the explosion. I opened the door and went outside because I thought an intruder was burning something to get us to sleep, but then I realised the smell was in the house.”
He said when he looked around he realised both his air conditioners and fan were off.
“I tested the switches and everything started exploding. Even when I turned the lights on, they also popped.”
He said the electrical voltage was very high and resulted in electrical wires in certain households to melt.
According to ward councillor Jaco Terblanche, the surge was the result of copper cable theft at a substation.
“This is currently a serious problem all over the ward. It started in December when thieves also broke into substations and stole the cables.”
Terblanche said plans were in the pipeline to ensure tighter security at substations. “I am compiling a petition that will be handed over to council on Thursday (January 25) at the monthly meeting. The petition asks council for better security at substations in the ward.”
Terblanche said other areas affected by cable theft in December were Allen Grove, Kempton Park Extension Two and Nimrod Park. He said streets lights were also affected by this.
Terblanche said many residents have complained about damages to their properties.
