Severe outages affect Pretoria neighborhoods for over a week, with schools and residents relying on diesel and hope amid storm-related damage.
Many residents in parts of Pretoria have been without power for eight days and counting as the City of Tshwane struggles to deal with a backlog of outages following a massive storm at the beginning of the month.
Ward 59 councillor Shaun Wilkinson said he only had hope left that the power would be restored to parts of his ward after being off for more than a week in some parts.
“It seems we are still dealing with the chaos, frustration and disappointment that comes with no power, no plan communicated and no timelines shared. As always I am escalating, re-escalating and re-re-escalating in the hope that someone, somewhere, hears me,” he said.
Power outages hit Pretoria for eight days
Wilkinson said he was in the same boat as his residents, without power.
“At this point, prayer, hope, or wishes might be our only backup power supply,” he added.
Prinshof School for the blind was also still without power despite lodging multiple complaints of a power outage, Wilkinson said.
ALSO READ: Eight-hour outages coming to these Joburg areas this week
On 5 December, power in the area was briefly restored at 5.15pm but went off by 11.15pm and has been off since.
Wilkinson said the school has used over 600l of diesel to power the hostels and kitchens and added pupils had to be sent home early due to the power challenges.
A resident, Carla du Preez, said in previous years, this ward was a sought-after residential area but now, when the wind blows, or it rains hard, or there is severe lightning, the power outages start.
Storm damage
“I think there are too many trees that are poorly pruned and that are touching overhead wires. That is most likely one of the causes of frequent outages and extremely dangerous conditions with sparks flying.
“Because the ground is so wet and so many trees are starting to fall, the overhead power lines are contracting,” she said.
In Murray Street, there was a huge tree that fell and pulled down power lines for a week, Du Preez said.
ALSO READ: Eskom load reduction: These Gauteng areas will be without power this week
“Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians were forced to drive and walk over the power lines while everyone waited for the municipality to remove the tree branches and stumps and secure the power lines.”
Du Preez said it’s not just inconvenient, the prolonged power outages are life-threatening because many residents depend on medication that needs to be stored in refrigerators, or medical equipment that runs on electricity.
DA mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink said they were deeply alarmed about the city’s electricity blackouts.
Affected areas
Prolonged power outages have spread as far as Sunnyside, Queenswood, Brooklyn, Colbyn, Wonderboom South, Arcadia, Menlo Park, Riviera, Mayville, Waverley, Groenkloof, Rietfontein, Gezina, Bergtuin, Swacina Park and Sunset View.
“One would imagine that leaving half the city in darkness for nearly a week would trigger urgent action from the executive,” he said.
