Cable fault delays Theresa Park power
As technicians battled to identify and repair a cable fault at the Rosslyn Electricity Depot, the extended outage placed a significant burden on residents and businesses.
Residents of Theresa Park and surrounding areas faced days of frustration as a persistent cable fault left parts of the community without electricity, highlighting concerns over ageing infrastructure and communication challenges during major outages.
According to the Rosslyn Electricity Depot’s progress report, the outage was linked to a cable fault affecting a mini substation serving sections of Theresa Park and Hestea Park.
Repair teams continued working to restore power, but no estimated restoration time had been confirmed as technicians battled to identify and repair the fault.
Ward 98 Councillor Mickey van der Westhuizen said the extended outage placed a significant burden on residents and businesses across the area.
“I understand the frustration that many families and businesses experienced, and I shared that frustration,” said Van der Westhuizen.
He explained that throughout the outage he prioritised keeping residents informed by sharing updates whenever information became available, “so that the community was not left completely in the dark”.
Van der Westhuizen added that the outage exposed serious shortcomings within the current electricity network and fault-reporting processes.
“Firstly, we urgently need investment in upgrading the Wolmer Substation to improve the reliability and resilience of the electricity network and help prevent similar incidents in the future,” he said.
He further noted that one of the greatest challenges was the amount of time it took technicians to locate and accurately identify the fault.
“It took almost an entire day before the exact cause was confirmed. By the time official feedback reached us, much of the information was already outdated and no longer relevant,” he said.
Residents expressed frustration over the prolonged outage, particularly during the cold winter weather.
Theresa Park resident Pieter Meyer said the outage disrupted daily life and created uncertainty for many households.
“Not knowing when the power would come back was probably the most frustrating part. We understand that faults happen, but communication needs to improve so residents know what is going on,” he said.
Another resident, James Mabalane, said businesses and families were heavily affected.
“Many people lost food in their fridges and had to make alternative arrangements. We appreciate the repair teams working on the fault, but we hope the metro invests in infrastructure upgrades to avoid this happening again,” he said.
Van der Westhuizen said he will continue engaging with the metro to push for improvements.
“Our residents deserve faster fault detection, better communication, and more responsive service during major outages.
“I will continue engaging with the metro to push for infrastructure upgrades and improved communication protocols so that communities receive the timely information they need during emergencies,” he said.
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