Frustration is mounting among residents in the north of Pretoria after repeated power outages disrupted households and businesses, prompting renewed calls for accountability and urgent intervention from the Tshwane metro.

Parts of Sinoville and Pretoria North were plunged into darkness several times in a single day recently, leaving residents angry and demanding answers.

Ward councillors Quentin Meyer and Lenise Breyrenbach have called for an urgent public meeting with municipal officials, citing rising tension and dissatisfaction within the community.

The metro’s spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo, said the latest outages were caused by a technical fault linked to infrastructure connected to the Onderstepoort substation.

“A circuit-breaker inside the consumer’s substation which is supplied by the metro’s Onderstepoort substation went faulty. The consumer appointed a private contractor who restored their power supply without attending to the faulty circuit-breaker. This resulted in a trip at the Onderstepoort substation,” Mashigo said.

The explanation has done little to ease tensions, with residents questioning how a fault at a consumer substation could trigger widespread outages across multiple areas.

Ward councillor Quentin Meyer said the situation has reached a critical point and that residents want direct engagement with metro officials.

“This is not an isolated incident. We are seeing repeated power trips, especially over weekends, and it is becoming unacceptable. Residents are frustrated and want clear answers on what is being done to prevent this from happening again,” he said, calling for transparency and accountability.

The requested public meeting would provide a platform for residents to raise concerns with the MMC and regional leadership.

Residents described the outages as disruptive and increasingly intolerable.

Andre Bester of Wonderboom Street in Pretoria North urged the metro to prioritise substation upgrades. “This is now getting out of hand. Why won’t the metro set aside funds to focus on upgrading our substations? It’s always a substation that has tripped but they are not doing anything to prevent future trips,” he said.

Darlene Fourie urged better communication from the municipality. “We understand that faults can happen, but we need better communication. Especially on weekends, we can spend the whole day without electricity,” she said.

“You can just imagine how frustrating it is when the power goes out three times in a day. The metro must invest in fixing these substations.”

The outages have also raised broader concerns about the stability of local electricity infrastructure and the procedures followed when private contractors carry out repairs on networks linked to the municipal supply.

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