Pienaarspoort residents demand urgent action over recurring power outages
Residents say they are struggling as they are left without power for days on end.
Pienaarspoort residents in Mamelodi demand permanent solutions to the ongoing power outages.
Residents claim they have been without electricity for eight days now, despite repeated reports to the metro, as the problem persists with no end in sight.
Local community member Elias Makega described the situation as devastating.
“We are struggling, especially small business owners and unemployed people, because paraffin, gas and wood are very expensive. We even lost a four-roomed shack as community members are now using firewood,” he said.
He said Tshwane is always promising to come up with permanent solutions.
“Most of the time, they say the tractor loader backhoe (TLB) is broken, whereby the TLB is an outsourced plant. My question is: why are they not borrowing it from other regions?”
The lack of reliable electricity has pushed residents to resort to other measures. Makega said residents once donated R5 each to hire a TLB to help fix the infrastructure issue, but their efforts were later discouraged.
Makega also explained that even when the maintenance team was sent, the process was often slow and incomplete.
“Even now, we have two cable faults, the team is not yet in the fault area. They will come at 14:00, then around 16:00 they will tell us they are not allowed to work overtime and leave us like that,” he said.
Another resident Fhumulani Makumbane relayed the same frustrations.
“Everyone is frustrated over the ongoing power outages. No one is happy because this is a problem of almost every week. Some sections can spend months without electricity,” Makumbani said.
In response to the enquiry from Rekord, councillor Johannes Bekker confirmed he was aware of the ongoing power outages.
“The matter has been reported by community members since February 2025, and my office has received several follow-ups from residents over the past few weeks regarding the ongoing interruptions,” he said.
Bekker explained that he had escalated the matter to the metro’s energy and electricity department and has been in constant communication with the regional depot.
“Technical teams have been deployed on several occasions to assess and attend to faults and damage in the area and have been in communication with the regional depot.”
He said permanent solutions are being sought to identify long-term interventions.
“I have requested the MMC and regional director, as well as officials, to prioritise the area for infrastructure investment.”
In addition, Bekker said he will continue to advocate for a lasting solution for residents throughout Ward 100.
“While I cannot give an exact date, I continue to demand urgent intervention and prioritisation of the area within the current operational schedule,” he said.
According to the metro, the main causes of the outages include flooding, resulting in cables being submerged, and illegal electricity connections, causing trips due to overloading the power network.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said technical faults across different parts of the network are complicating the city’s restoration efforts.
“The city’s technical teams are working around the clock to identify, isolate, and repair these issues as quickly and safely as possible,” he said.
He said the city is actively implementing solutions to minimise the impact of the above-mentioned challenges.
“Members of the public are urged to report illegal connections and avoid tampering with the electrical network,” said Mashigo.
Tshwane has apologised for the inconvenience caused and pleaded for residents’ co-operation during the continued interruption of the essential service.
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