Following Newlands residents’ frustrations over the three-month long power outage, City Power has responded to said concerns, acknowledging the frustrations experienced by affected residents.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena stated that the entity is fully aware and understand the inconvenience that prolonged and recurring power interruptions have on households and businesses.

“The recurring outages experienced in parts of Newlands over the past few months have been driven by a combination of factors, including an ageing electricity network, increased electricity demand resulting in overloading of infrastructure, as well as the ongoing impact of theft and vandalism across the network.

Read more: Playground Fest celebrates the power of art and community in Roosevelt Park

The current outage affecting customers supplied by the Italian Road transformer switching station on the Claremont 11kV distributor, including parts of Italian Road, Stonewall Road, and Market Road, was specifically caused by severe overloading.”

Mangena highlighted that excessive demand resulted in cable sparking, which caused the transformer to catch alight.

“Although the fire was contained, repairs were delayed due to the unavailability of critical replacement material. To minimise the impact on customers, Hursthill service delivery centre (SDC) deployed a generator to provide temporary supply. Unfortunately, the generator was unable to sustain the exceptionally high electricity demand and could not provide a long-term solution.”

Following the replacement of the transformer, the network experienced further trips after cables and circuit breakers were damaged by the same excessive load, highlighting the continued strain being placed on the infrastructure.

Mangena confirmed that over the past three months, Hursthill SDC has responded to several outages affecting different sections of Newlands.

“These outages have varied in nature and have included transformer failures, underground cable faults, damaged circuit breakers, and equipment failures associated with network overload.”

Read more: Newlands is still battling power outages after last month’s substation fire

Each incident has required different technical interventions, including fault-finding, cable repairs, replacement of damaged equipment, restoration through alternative network configuration where possible, deployment of temporary generation, and, most recently, the replacement of the damaged transformer at the Italian Road transformer switching station, said Mangena.

While every effort has been made to restore supply in the shortest timeframe, Mangena stated that the recurring overload conditions continue to damage infrastructure shortly after repairs are completed, resulting in repeat outages.

On the current status of repairs, he highlighted that the transformer, cable, and breaker replacement has been completed, and supply has been restored to customers on Market Road, Stonewall Road, and the upper section of Italian Road, supplied directly from the transformer switching station.

He explained that the remaining customers on the lower section of Italian Road are still without electricity due to a damaged feeder cable that also requires replacement.

“However, before this final restoration can proceed, City Power must complete a vending audit in the affected area. Our metering teams have repeatedly attempted to conduct these audits but have been prevented from doing so by some residents.

The purpose of the audit is to determine whether customers are legally purchasing electricity, whether meters have been tampered with, and whether illegal connections are contributing to the excessive demand that continues to overload and damage the network.”

Also read: Fairland residents left waiting as generator continues to power Market Street

Mangena assured that they will replace the damaged feeder cable, but electricity supply will only be restored once the required vending audit has been successfully completed. “As a public entity, City Power has a responsibility not only to restore electricity efficiently but also to protect public resources and ensure that electricity consumed is paid for. Revenue collection is fundamental to maintaining, repairing, and upgrading the electricity network, and these processes cannot be separated.”

While the issue has left the lower section of Italian Road up in arms, City Power appreciates the patience of residents who have endured repeated outages and fully understands their frustrations. “Our technicians remain committed to restoring electricity in the shortest possible time whenever faults occur.

@caxtonjoburgnorth WATCH: Mish Lewis voices her frustrations about having no power for three months in Newlands, on August 3. Video: Waydon Jacobs #Northcliff #Newlands #Poweroutage #Citypower ♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North

However, long-term network stability requires the co-operation of the community. We appeal to residents to allow City Power officials safe and unhindered access to conduct the necessary vending audits. Preventing officials from carrying out these inspections only delays restoration efforts and prolongs outages for the broader community.”

Mangena also urged customers to use electricity responsibly, report illegal connections, meter tampering, cable theft and vandalism, and ensure that electricity consumed is legally purchased.

“City Power remains committed to providing a safe, reliable, and sustainable electricity supply, but this can only be achieved through a shared commitment between City Power and the communities it serves.”

Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok for the latest updates!