Report on mayor’s 100 days in office: How will CoE fix the electricity crisis?

Due to the number of power outages in Kempton Park since the start of 2022, Express looked at City of Ekurhuleni’s (CoE) spending on electrical infrastructure following Mayor Tania Campbell’s 100 days in office report.

ALSO READ: Ekurhuleni reveals big plans to deal with power crisis

Express reported on the outages that hit Kempton Park, the first being a five-day outage that started on January 21. This was followed recently by another five-day power outage that affected Pomona, Bredell and Brentwood Park.

This newsroom was inundated with complaints from residents regarding the lack of detailed communication from CoE.

Express reported on CoE’s master plan aimed at tackling the electricity crisis in Ekurhuleni.

Germiston City News, Express’ sister publication, also reported on several CBD business owners who complained that power outages resulted in job losses and increasing costs for fuel and generators.

Several owners had to close their shop doors due to ongoing power outages.

ALSO READ: CoE remains tight-lipped on second 5-day power outage in Kempton areas

In a press statement issued on February 11, MMC of Water, Sanitation and Energy Senzi Sibeko blamed the previous administration for leaving ageing and poorly managed energy infrastructure behind.

“Numerous power outages are caused by theft and vandalism of the city’s infrastructure,” he said.

Sibeko explained the decaying infrastructure became susceptible to frequent failures and lack of maintenance worsened the situation.

Eskom
Eskom released a statement on February 28 accusing CoE of owing the entity money.

CoE denied that it owed Eskom money, responding that Eskom’s statement was ‘misrepresentative of the truth and it’s profoundly unfortunate’.

“The city has on multiple occasions disputed Eskom’s tendency to float legislated financial practices,” CoE stated.

On March 11, with the release of Campbell’s office report, she announced that R117-million was granted to the energy department to promote energy security.

“R40-m will be for maintenance and R77-m for new infrastructure allocated to minimise power outages caused by the ageing and poorly maintenance infrastructure in the city,” the report stated.

ALSO READ: CoE disputes R544-million debt to Eskom

Express asked questions
Express sent an inquiry to CoE, requesting clarity on the mayor’s report.

The inquiry was sent to mayoral spokesperson Phakamile Mbengasha on March 7, requesting the below in reference to the R117-m:
• A detailed explanation/report of how and where the money (R117-m) will be used.
• Will it be used in places like Germiston and Kempton Park, as they are the areas often affected by power outages, or will it also be used throughout Ekurhuleni.
• Details on the temporary solution for the power supply in Pomona and how long this will take before it will be repaired. Express also asked whether the R117-m is part of that solution.

“The details related to the specific budgetary allocations will be set out in the city’s budget speech to be held on March 30,” responded Mbengasha on March 8.

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