Residents of Newlands staged a protest on August 3 after parts of the suburb had endured nearly three months without electricity.
They said repeated appeals to City Power have failed to bring a lasting solution.

Holding placards and gathering in the streets, residents said they had reached breaking point after months of living without power. They described the prolonged outage as a crisis that has affected every aspect of daily life, from preparing food and running businesses to children’s education and household safety.

Read more: Newlands is still battling power outages after last months substation fire

Newlands resident, Mish Lewis, said his family has been without electricity for three months despite numerous reports to City Power.

Lewis added that they had repeatedly reported the fault and had visited City Power offices several times. She said officials recently promised that a team would arrive at 1pm on July 31, but no one came.

Lewis said the outage has also taken a heavy toll on children. Some claimed children have become ill during the cold winter weather, while others have struggled to prepare for school without electricity.

Also read: Ward 98 power outages highlight ongoing challenges at City Power during festive season

“We can’t cook properly, we can’t preserve food, and many families simply can’t afford to replace what they’ve lost. Our children have been getting sick because of these conditions.”

@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

Residents also expressed frustration over what they described as a lack of response from authorities. They said they had followed City Power’s requests, including collecting signatures from affected households, but felt their concerns had been ignored.

“We’ve been advocating for ourselves for months, but it’s falling on deaf ears. That’s why we took this action, and we won’t stop until the problem is fixed and there’s a long-term solution.”

Residents vowed to continue protesting their concerns until power is restored, saying they could no longer accept living without a basic service that many depend on for their livelihoods, health and education.

The publication sent City Power a media query regarding the protest and gave a deadline of 2pm today. Their response will be updated once received.

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