The Tshwane metro has deployed additional personnel to accelerate power restoration in Region 3, following severe weather conditions that caused widespread electricity outages earlier this week.

Metro Spokesperson Selby Bokaba stated that the city has intensified its efforts, prioritising areas hardest hit by storm damage and long-standing outages.

Bokaba explained that a total of 17 additional personnel, diverted from metering teams and supported by reinforcements from other regions, have been sent to bolster operations in Region 3, which experienced the highest number of outages.

“A few days ago, the city withdrew the Amabutho Public Lighting Team to further support Region 3 staff.”

According to him, these strengthened efforts have already yielded substantial progress. Since the beginning of the week, when 5,556 block and single outages were recorded across the metro, the number of outstanding outages has dropped to just 410 as of this morning.

“Region 3, which initially accounted for 60 of the 84 major outages citywide, now has only nine unresolved major faults.”

“This remarkable improvement is the result of intensified field operations, continuous shifts, and strategic supplementation of the regional workforce to fast-track fault identification, repairs, and energisation of affected lines,” remarked Bokaba.

He added that despite ongoing daily outages caused by wet ground conditions and weakened infrastructure, technicians have remained diligent in reducing the backlog.

However, residents in Pretoria East are at their wits’ end as large parts of the area remain without electricity for up to nine days, leaving families exhausted, frustrated, and desperate for answers.

Ward 82 councillor Siobhan Muller stated that the crisis in Region 3 has spiralled far beyond what technicians can manage.

According to her, residents in Maroelana and Menlo Park have now reached day nine without power. The situation worsened earlier in the week when cables snapped during an attempted restoration effort.

“On Tuesday, we tried to warn the technicians about cut cables at Hazelwood Road and 23rd Street while the power was off,” she said.

Muller added that when the lines were re-energised, live cables triggered a major short circuit, damaging additional cables on Nuwe Hoop Street and Van Staden Road.

The human impact is severe; one resident with a two-week-old baby has also been without electricity for days.

“In updates from the city, they promised last night that technicians would come to Maroelana after addressing the power outage in Lynnwood. Nothing has happened until this morning, and still, no teams are on site,” she explained.

After eight days without power, a single vehicle finally arrived to scout for materials but left after only ten minutes.

Muller stated that she was again promised that teams would return with cables today, but they haven’t come.

She believes the collapse in response capacity is a direct result of cuts to service delivery and overtime budgets.

“Region 3 faces a severe backlog, especially after storms. Cutting the service delivery budget and overtime has worsened the situation. Officials are issuing misleading updates while councillors struggle to provide residents with accurate feedback.”

Muller emphasised that the outages extend far beyond Maroelana, affecting many communities in her ward and across Pretoria East, with power failures lasting between eight and ten days.

Despite these challenges, she highlighted that some technicians are working tirelessly.

“Technicians who are still on duty are putting in long hours. I was with a team last night in another area, and they were doing everything they could, going out of their way to fix as much as possible in that specific area,” she said.

Residents on Van Staden Road have expressed a sense of desperation.

Harry Jansen Van Nieuwenhuizen mentioned that it has now been nine days without electricity, leaving residents feeling abandoned.

“It’s frustrating. The city keeps saying they’ll fix it, but nothing happens,” he explained.

He added that generators are expensive, and many households now face the burden of disposing of spoiled food. With his children expected to visit, he said the timing could not be worse.

“Now I will have children visiting, and we don’t have electricity, which is frustrating.”

Jansen Van Nieuwenhuizen also noted the outage’s impact on his job.

“I work from home, so this is a significant problem. Yesterday, cables were hanging in the streets, which is very dangerous,” he added.

ALSO READ: Prolonged power outages in east spark outrage

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