The collaborative efforts of the KwaDukuza municipality’s electricity department and Eskom to reroute electricity supply through the Shakaskraal substation, allowed for a much earlier power switch-on for Ballito and surrounding areas.

The lights came on during the night, allaying fears of a possible four-day outage initially predicted while repair work at the Driefontein substation was underway.

Driefontein, which supplies electricity to Ballito and the surrounding areas at Collisheen, Simbithi, Nkobongo, Foxhill, Brettenwood and surrounding farms, was damaged during Monday afternoon’s tornado-driven storm.

Repairs are expected to be completed by Friday.

Ballito’s Ward 30 councillor Jack Abrahams cautioned residents to use electricity sparingly in the interim as overloading the Shakaskraal grid may cause tripping and power interruptions.