The Tshwane metro has denied accusations of apathy and incompetence following criticism from Ward 41 Councillor Ben Chapman over consistent delayed power restorations in his ward.

Chapman slammed the metro’s system operators earlier this week after an initial report about a mini-substation, later confirmed by the metro to be an outdoor substation (ODS), that exploded during a severe storm.

While the technical repair team replaced the unit exceptionally fast, Chapman said the power remained off for nearly half a day due to an unresponsive switching team, which is not how operating procedures normally work.

He said the metro teams, especially in Meyerspark, acted astonishingly carelessly and unresponsively in switching the electricity on after repairs.

According to him, the recent incident where the ODS exploded on the corner of Nina and Lillian streets has revealed the attitude and indifference of the switching team.

He said the initial response from the city’s technical team was nothing short of remarkable.

However, the switching team, the system operators responsible for energising the unit, took about 12 hours to switch on the unit.

“This was [a] pathetic, careless, indifferent, disinterested, unresponsive, and frankly contemptuous finish by the switching team. The finishing touches were absolutely pathetic.”

He said the switching teams in his ward have a complete disregard for residents.

“Their attitude amounts to, ‘we will get to it when we get to it’. That is simply unacceptable. No community should ever be treated this way.”

He said residents were plunged into darkness for 12 hours while students were in the middle of exams.

However, the metro has moved to clarify why the power could not be restored sooner, saying the councillor’s claims overlook critical safety and high-voltage sequencing requirements.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the delays were the result of a major upstream and downstream failure, and not switching negligence.

He confirmed that the ODS was restored and energised on November 17 at about 13:30, adding that the explosion triggered a 132kV trip between Njala and Willows Substation, which significantly disrupted the broader supply network.

“System operators cannot energise an 11kV network until the 132kV primary supply is fully restored,” Mashigo said.

“They also had to wait for the depot team to replace the exploded ODS before downstream switching could proceed. All actions were taken according to approved safety protocols.”

Mashigo stressed that heavy rains make high-voltage switching unsafe and, at times, impossible, further contributing to the delay.

He said at no stage did their teams act with indifference.

“The restoration sequence is governed by safety protocols and cannot be bypassed, especially during severe wet weather and after an upstream 132kV trip.”

He added that the repair of the ODS was carried out ‘almost immediately once escalated’, but the system operators were still attending to a separate mini-substation fault elsewhere in the city at the time.

Mashigo emphasised that the long delays are not standard procedure, and only occur during complex and hazardous faults.

“Under normal circumstances, switching is done as soon as it is technically permissible. Extended restoration times happen only during events such as major equipment failures, upstream trips or weather-related risks,” he explained.

He said the metro deploys experienced technicians and engineers during emergencies, but high-voltage work cannot proceed when conditions are unsafe.

Chapman maintains that switching teams and delays are failing the residents.

He said he will still escalate the matter, arguing that communication breakdowns and operational bottlenecks are too frequent.

The metro said it is assessing the incident and reviewing ways to improve co-ordination between technical repair teams, primary switching units and depot operations.

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