After years, City Power finally makes progress in Sundowner
The spokesperson of City Power, Isaac Mangena, said the entity has appointed a team to conduct repairs, lock and seal all affected boxes in the area.
A year after City Power promised to lock electricity boxes that were left open in Sundowner, residents are only seeing progress now.
David Strachan, a resident of Sundowner, expressed his frustration with the situation and said that the issue was first reported in 2020. “It’s unacceptable that we have to live with this safety hazard right in front of our homes. Live wires are exposed and that is extremely dangerous. Anyone can just enter the box and could get electrocuted or even killed.”
Strachan explained that residents were often left without power because of vandalism and theft of wires from the open boxes. “During load-shedding, people would get into the box and steal the fuses which would leave the street without electricity often. So, the people in my street contributed some money so that we could close the big electricity box in front of my house.”
Derek De Bruijn who works at a nursery school in Sundowner spoke of the safety concerns regarding an open box in front of the school. “Whenever I see the box open, I always close it up for the safety of the children. I thought of getting a grip lock and tying it closed because both sides of the box are broken and the hinges are gone as well. Anyone could get seriously injured if they enter the box, especially the children.”
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena addressed the concerns, stating, “City Power is aware and concerned about the increasing number of incidents of vandalism and theft of infrastructure components of electricity boxes in and around Sundowner. This is unfortunately not limited to the area. These incidents occur across areas within the City of Johannesburg.”
Mangena continued, “We are concerned about the dangers such illegal activities pose on residents, particularly children. City Power appeals to members of the community to report suspicious activities around the electricity infrastructure.”
Regarding the efforts to address the issue, he said, “City Power has appointed a team to conduct repairs, lock and seal all affected boxes in the area. Our team has up to now managed to lock a number of boxes that were open in the area. They will soon start with a process of fixing those with broken doors and hinges.”
Mangena urged the community to safeguard infrastructure, “We urge local communities and Randburg businesses to participate in its community partnership programme on electricity network infrastructure security to protect critical infrastructure and minimise power outages.”
Details of the full programme for community participation are available on City Power’s website at
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE ON COMMUNITY PARTNERHSIP TO
PROTECT ELECTRICITY NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE
Related article: City Power to replace a vandalised transformer in Blairgowrie
