Businesses in the Koedoespoort industrial hub near Nico Smith Street in Pretoria’s Moot area say that repeated electricity outages during early March have disrupted production, damaged equipment, and left companies uncertain about the stability of the area’s power supply.

The outage began on March 4 and affected factories, workshops, and manufacturing plants, especially across streets such as Blesbok, Steenbok, Rooibok, and Bloubokkie.

Although the metro said the fault was repaired quickly, business owners insist electricity supply remained unstable for several days and that communication from the municipality was limited.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the interruptions were caused by technical faults at a communal substation.

“There was a fuse failure inside the communal substation. Subsequently, there were high tension tailings that got burnt. Both faults have been repaired,” said Mashigo. “The area is online and on the grid again.”

According to Mashigo, the outage was not linked to ongoing infrastructure upgrades at the Blesbok Substation.

Mashigo said the interruption was unplanned and that was why businesses were not notified beforehand.

However, several business owners dispute this timeline, saying some areas remained without electricity long after the metro says power was restored.

Christopher Sampson from Ultimate Powder Coaters said their factory on Blesbok Avenue was left struggling to maintain production during the outage.

“Certain parts of our production cannot be executed without electricity. Then there is the high cost of diesel to run certain sections on generators. We could not deliver products to customers on time,” he said.

The powder coating company employs 34 people and reported being without electricity intermittently for more than three days.

Manufacturing companies across the industrial area reported similar problems.

Etali Engineering, a machining and manufacturing business in Steenbok Street, estimated that the outage cost them tens of thousands of rand in lost production. The management confirmed that as a small business, this impacted their production, and led to possible loss of work and clients.

Some business owners had to personally visit the electricity depot to seek assistance after receiving little feedback.

Chemical blending company Ritechem also struggled to continue operations during the outage and said they were unable to continue with certain production processes and could not complete big distributor orders. Their security was also compromised.

At Na Loea Electroplating Solutions on Bloubokkie Street, finance manager Megan Potter said the outage had a direct impact on production because their machines require three-phase electricity.

“We cannot operate our machines with only one phase while the other two phases are down,” she said. “Production has stopped and clients have collected work awaiting plating.”

Potter added that the lack of information from authorities created further uncertainty.

“This is having a negative impact on our business as we could lose current clients and future clients. We are also receiving very limited information from higher-ups regarding any future outages and timelines.”

Large manufacturers were also affected. Automotive components manufacturer Bosal Afrika reported that the outage forced operations to slow dramatically. The company employs about 250 people, and said that the interruption caused equipment failures and lost production time.

The impact for Bosal included major equipment failures and revenue losses with major automotive partners.

Despite these reports, the metro maintains that the interruption was resolved quickly.

“This was an unplanned power supply interruption which was swiftly restored,” Mashigo said.

Business owners disagree.

“Definitely not swiftly,” one business owner said, pointing to a timeline of interruptions recorded during the week.

According to the businesses, the outage began on March 4 at 10:02, with only partial restoration two days later at 12:46. Electricity tripped again briefly on March 8 and full restoration was only achieved at 23:10 the next day.

Questions have also been raised about the municipality’s communication with affected companies.

Mashigo said updates were shared on official channels.

However, some businesses say they were not included in the metro’s communication groups.

Ward councillors also expressed frustration over the lack of information.

Councillors Peter Meijer from the Freedom Front Plus and Anru Meyer from the DA warned that prolonged outages could threaten jobs in the industrial area.

“The situation in Koedoespoort Industrial Ward 84 is becoming a serious threat to the sustainability of factories and various businesses there,” they said in a joint message to metro officials. “No power means no production.”

They warned that some companies were already considering leaving the area if the power problems continued.

The councillors added that even a small number of job losses would have serious consequences. “Seven to 10 job losses do not seem like a lot but it will be devastating to those families depending on that single income.”

Mashigo said work at the nearby Blesbok Substation is continuing and is expected to be completed soon.

“The team is finalising the renovations and the anticipated completion date is April 30,” he said.

Meanwhile, businesses are still asking what long-term plans exist to address recurring cable faults in the area’s electricity network, which they say has been repeatedly patched rather than permanently repaired.

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