Residents in parts of Pretoria East are still waiting for power to be restored while City of Tshwane pushes to get the grid to full capacity again.
Picture: iStock
Residents in parts of Pretoria East are still waiting for the power to be restored while the City of Tshwane pushes to get its grid to full capacity again.
City spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the Energy and Electricity Business Unit has made significant progress in restoring electricity supply to Waltloo Industrial, with about 90% of the affected industrial load now restored.
Residents still waiting for power to be restored
“Technical work required to restore supply at the 132/11kV Waltloo substation has been completed, including equipment and cable installations, testing and commissioning,” he said.
“The network is being brought back into service in phases to ensure safe and stable restoration.
“Approximately 50% of industrial consumers had their supply restored on Saturday.
“Further phased switching has since brought additional customers back onto the network, bringing overall restoration to about 90% of the affected industrial load,” added Mashigo.
Mashigo said the city’s technical teams were busy installing additional backup network connections to strengthen the Waltloo supply arrangement, which will improve the network’s ability to maintain supply and provide alternatives should a fault occur.
Third time in less than a year had to throw away spoiled food
Eastlynn resident Susan Brand said it was the third time in less than a year they had to throw away spoiled food due to power outages.
“We have been offline since last Tuesday at 9am. It is going on day seven.
“We had to throw away two black bags of spoiled vegetables and meat.
“Last December, we were without power for almost three weeks. We also had to throw away all our spoiled food.
“At the end of August, we were also left without power for three days. Again, we had to throw away food,” she said.
Residents unhappy
Brand said she submitted a claim to the city, which simply replied that her application was unsuccessful.
“We struggle to keep the pots cooking. The residents are very unhappy,” she said.
Down the road, angry residents have taken to the streets to protest against the prolonged power outage by blocking the street with tyres and branches.
Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) spokesperson Colonel Isaac Mahamba has confirmed that four suspects were arrested for public violence during the demonstrations.
DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink said people want to know what’s going on with the prolonged power outage in East Lynne, Jan Niemandpark, Murrayfield, La Montagne and Silverton.
DA says about 6000 residents remain without power
“Murrayfield, La Montagne, Silverton and other parts of ward 41: about 6 000 residents remain without power.
“All the cable faults caused by the Njala outage and subsequent switching have been repaired, but a shortage of switching teams and system operators is delaying restoration.
“In East Lynne and Jan Niemandpark, about 3 000 people remain without power. Teams are repairing a fourth cable fault. Cable theft during the outage has caused further setbacks. Once repairs are completed, the city can proceed with switching power back on,” he added.
Brink said residents were understandably angry.
On Sunday night, DA councillor Freddie Pienaar urged protesters to join community patrols to prevent further cable theft. When cables are stolen, residents face an even longer wait for electricity.
Councillor urges protesters to join community patrols
“The past week reinforces the basis of the DA’s complaint to the National Energy Regulator of SA.
“Under the ANC-led coalition, funding for critical infrastructure upgrades has been cut in favour of water tankers and security companies. Shortages of switching teams and system operators further prolong outages and leave cables vulnerable.”
