Electricity outages leave Glen Anil and Glen Hills residents in the dark

CABLE faults, unscheduled outages and cable theft have left businesses and residents in the Glen Anil and Glen Hills areas without electricity for hours on end on an almost daily basis.

Several residents say they are at their wit’s end, especially as most of the outages take place outside of load-shedding blocks of two hours without power.

Residents said the current trajectory of electricity outages is not sustainable and is putting businesses and their homes at risk.

Last week, several residents met with Northglen News who shared their frustrations and concerns.

Also read: Glen An-Hills Neighbourhood Watch fights back against cable theft

Glen Anil resident Karen Lange said she loses much of the food she buys because of the extended power cuts.

“I’m a pensioner, I don’t have transport so I walk 8km to the shops and back to get my groceries. I pick my shops for the specials, and when we have extended outages, I lose a lot of my food. This is at great cost to me personally. We have had cases of cable theft during load-shedding, but I can’t say if that is what’s contributing to the outages. I also find being without electricity is a massive security risk as the cell towers don’t work, making it hard to communicate,” she said.

Nathanael Naicker, who prepares food for the underprivileged from his home, said the extended outages have led to spoiled food.

“This is impacting everyone including the elderly. I have elderly neighbours, and I know of people who need their insulin refrigerated, but these outages put them at great risk. On a personal level, I’ve had to replace my fridge, microwave and my gate motor which has totalled more than R30 000. I prepare food for a soup kitchen for underprivileged children in Phoenix. We’ve lost so much food because it was spoiled without electricity, and at times, I’ve had to rely on the kindness of others to help prepare the food,” he said.

Also read: Electricity outages cause havoc for Glen Anil businesses

The Glen An-Hills Neighbourhood Watch have made great strides in tackling cable theft with dedicated patrols.

Avi Pillay, deputy chairperson of the watch, recently recovered cables that were in the process of being stripped.

“We recovered two cables, one from Legacy Road near the Malacca Road Informal Settlement and the other in Glen Anil. Both were in the process of being stripped. We cannot say for certain if these cables were the cause behind the outages. Another aspect to this is how it is affecting businesses. I know of many people who run their businesses from home not being able to function. We also border a large industrial area, and I can only imagine the impact on them if they don’t have generators,” he said.

On an annual basis, cable theft costs the eThekwini Municipality R120 million.

The community is urged to report cable and infrastructure theft by calling 031 311 9611 or 031 311 9835.

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