GATVOL Kempton Park residents take to the streets after latest power outage

Residents gathered on the P91 at McDonald’s on Monday night expressing their anger and frustration after suffering extended power outages since the weekend.

ALSO READ: Update from CoE: Kempton power to be restored from 22:00 in phases

Residents called on ward councillors and the City of Ekurhuleni to provide clarity on the power outages that hit the area since June 26.

Soon after the Express reported online on Monday night that the media and residents were desperate for answers, CoE on the same evening told Express that the area’s power would be restored in phases from 22:00.

This follows a period of uncertainty for residents as conflicting information was circulating.

Kempton Park ward councillors told residents that there were “different stories about the Kempton Park power outage causing havoc”.

“After load-shedding yesterday (June 26), we lost one of our key substations. Smoke was coming from the control panels.

ALSO READ: Media and residents desperate for clarity on Kempton power outages

Teams worked throughout the night to investigate and resolve the issue,” ward councillors informed residents on Monday morning via automated responses.

This contradicted CoE’s statement issued via spokesperson Zweli Dlamini on Monday night that the substation, supplying the area, tripped after load-shedding on June 26.

In Monday night’s response to Express, Dlamini said that restoration was delayed after further damage was identified on the 66kv infrastructure during testing.

Affected areas included Birchleigh, Glen Marais, Van Riebeeck Park, Terenure, Birch Acres, Aston Manor, Allen Grove, Bonaero Park and surrounding areas.

This follows the week-long power outage that hit the area on January 21.

Power supply was then restored on January 26.

On January 31 another power outage hit Kempton Park and the MMC of Energy Clr Senzi Sibeko then stated that a fault on the 66 kV cable supplying Kempton Park had then also tripped.

At the time of going to print, there was no clarity as to the reason for the latest power outage.

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Residents also took the Express’ Facebook page on Monday to express their anger.

Tracy Munro questioned why the 66kv that was “supposedly fixed” suddenly had issues.

“Sounds like someone does not know what is going on in Kempton Park and residents are bearing the brunt,” stated Munro.

Corne Coetser speculated that “maybe it is not our famous 66kv cable that is at fault but rather non-payment to Eskom by Ekurhuleni.”

“I recall recently we had just recovered from a three-day outage and hours later were load-shedding, as per the schedule. If you can afford it, go off grid,” advised Brent Wicksted.

“Power back in Terenure.

“Why must Kempton Express always ask before anything gets done?

“Why must residents take to the streets before anything gets done?

“And we are still waiting for a reply from the mayor and councillors,” stated Stewart O’Brien late on Monday evening.

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