Cosmo City residents demand stable power
Amanda Qithi confirmed that Cosmo Ext 8 residents are paying for electricity and their constant outages are a result of illegal connections.
Eskom spokesperson Amanda Qithi confirmed that a permanent solution will be implemented by installing a new feeder capable of handling the power load for Cosmo City Ext 8 residents.
This follows after fed-up residents with placards voiced their frustration about the power issues by blocking the main entrance to the Megawatt Park.
Resident Mampho Mokone explained that they haven’t had any stable power and they have been going back and forth with Eskom for over three years.
“We can go for a month without electricity and when we get reconnected it lasts for two weeks or two days at most. We are unable to even buy groceries; we buy hand to mouth because we can’t keep anything in the fridges; it gets spoiled and we throw away food. We are struggling; we can’t iron kids’ school uniforms and every time they [Eskom] make empty promises saying they will connect us to a new line.”
She added that they were promised their own feeder which never happened. “We demand our own feeder; we are tired and they should make something happen.”
Qithi explained that the consistent outages in Cosmo City Ext 8 are a result of illegal connections from an informal settlement in Honeydew. However, they are exacerbated by the development of back-room dwellers and the rental properties that have since been built in the area, which cause overloading.
“When the owners of the properties extend their homes or build back rooms, they should apply to Eskom to upgrade them from the 60Amps that they are currently on. A temporary control that we are implementing is to move them from the current point of supply that the informal settlement is tapping into to a new supply point that has recently been strengthened and upgraded.”
She confirmed that the Ext 8 residents are paying for electricity. “A permanent solution we will be putting in place is installing a new feeder, taking into consideration the developments that have taken place in the area.”
Resident Mpho Molanthwa has a three-year-old disabled child who is on chronic medication that she keeps on the fridge. She said that because they spend days without electricity, the medication gets spoiled and she ends up losing lots of money.
“I now spend more than R2 000 a month on medication and normally R1 000 was enough. Enough is enough with this. Eskom needs to fix this issue because my child’s life is at risk.”
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