The Tshwane metro has defended its overtime management policy, saying it remains committed to responding to electricity emergencies and major outages, despite concerns that the measures are affecting service delivery.
The issue was recently highlighted by Ward 47 councillor Lida Erasmus, who appealed to residents to report electricity faults immediately and provide reference numbers as soon as outages occur.
Erasmus said delayed reporting often limits the assistance councillors can provide, especially when residents wait several days before raising a fault, and that due to overtime cuts, officials cannot attend to single electricity outages on Sundays.
“If you have a service delivery issue, please report it immediately and directly send me the address and reference number,” Erasmus said.
“Do not wait three days and then phone me at 06:30 on a Sunday, telling me you have been without power for three days and I need to fix this immediately.”
She said some residents only seek help after prolonged outages and then expect an immediate resolution.
“Due to new overtime rules implemented by the current government, officials will not be attending single outages on Sundays, which means that I can do nothing to assist you on a Sunday after a three-day outage,” she said.
“If you had sent the information on Thursday or Friday when the outage actually started, I may have been able to assist, but expecting me to fix it immediately on a Sunday morning after you have been without power for three days is unrealistic and unfair.”
In response to questions from Rekord, mayoral spokesperson Samkelo Mgobozi said the metro’s overtime management measures are designed to control expenditure while ensuring that critical services continue uninterrupted.
These measures, according to him, are to better manage overtime expenditure, particularly on Sundays where overtime rates are significantly higher.
“However, residents should be assured that these measures do not prevent the city from responding to emergencies or incidents affecting critical infrastructure and essential services.”
Mgobozi said the metro differentiates between single-customer outages and incidents that require an emergency response.
According to Mgobozi, a single outage generally affects one property or a limited number of customers, while emergency responses are prioritised when outages affect critical facilities, public safety or large sections of the network.
“Exceptions are made for power failures affecting hospitals, clinics and other critical facilities,” said Mgobozi.
“In addition, major outages affecting communities, neighbourhoods or sections of the network continue to receive the necessary operational response, including after hours and over weekends.”
He also rejected suggestions that the overtime policy has negatively affected response times.
According to Mgobozi, the metro has not experienced a material impact on service delivery response times as a result of the overtime arrangements.
He added that major outages and area-wide faults continue to be attended to around the clock to minimise inconvenience to residents and restore supply as quickly as possible.
While the metro maintains that its overtime measures are not affecting service delivery, it agreed with Erasmus on the importance of reporting outages promptly.
Mgobozi encouraged residents to report electricity faults through official municipal channels as soon as they occur and to keep their reference numbers for follow-up enquiries.
Electricity outages can be reported through the city’s call centre on 012 358 9999 or by sending the word ‘Power’ together with a meter number or account number to 44676 or 082 612 0333.
“Prompt reporting helps technical teams diagnose faults more efficiently and deploy resources where they are needed most,” said Mgobozi.
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