Residents in Louwlardia who have faced frequent and unpredictable electricity outages say many households in the area are struggling to cope.

Anthony Venter, who lives in one of the area’s estates, described the ongoing disruptions as a serious challenge to daily life.

Venter mentioned that the area has struggled with power outages for years, with electricity often going off, being restored after repairs, and then failing again a day or two later.

He explained that these interruptions have a direct impact on daily life, including the loss of food.

“Sometimes we’re forced to throw away rotten food from our fridges because we cannot afford generators. The outages also affect my work, as I sometimes have to work from home and cannot do so when there is no electricity.”

Venter recalled an outage that occurred just last week when the area was without power due to cable faults.

He stated that residents had to wait longer than usual for repairs because technicians could not work during heavy rain, and electricity was only restored after some time.

While acknowledging the frustration this causes, Venter added that he understands some of the challenges faced by the city.

“I understand that issues such as vandalism, cable theft, and water damage to infrastructure are complex and not always easy to resolve quickly,” he said.

Another resident, Charlotte Jooste, said that although explanations from the city are helpful, residents continue to bear the consequences when the electricity supply remains unstable.

“It becomes very difficult to plan your life when you never know if the power will stay on,” she said.

She said the disruptions affect everything from household routines to safety, particularly when outages happen at night.

Jooste added that residents want to see the metro’s long-term plans materialise sooner rather than later, as patience is wearing thin.

“While communication from the city is important, consistent electricity supply remains the most pressing need for the community.”

In response to residents’ concerns, the Tshwane municipality says steps are being taken to stabilise electricity supply in Louwlardia.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the city is concerned about the circulation of misleading information regarding power outages in the area, particularly reports that do not reflect the municipality’s perspective.

He said the city wanted to set the record straight in the interest of transparency and public confidence.

“Electricity supply challenges in Louwlardia, experienced since October 2023, were primarily caused by sustained vandalism at the local substation and repeated theft of feeder cables.

“These criminal activities severely compromised the integrity of the electricity infrastructure and resulted in prolonged and recurring outages, predating the current city administration,” said Mashigo.

He explained that the city responded by engaging business partners and the ward councillor, which led to the establishment of a Community Upliftment Project.

Mashigo noted that through this partnership, the Louwlardia substation was comprehensively upgraded and fitted with enhanced security measures, including CCTV surveillance and an electric fence.

He said these interventions were implemented in 2025 and were fully funded by business partners.

“As a result of these upgrades, the substation is currently in a stable condition and is significantly better protected against vandalism and cable theft.”

Mashigo added that the metro acknowledges and appreciates the role played by local stakeholders in safeguarding critical infrastructure and supporting long-term service stability.

Despite these improvements, Mashigo conceded that challenges remain within the downstream electricity network.

He explained that faults continue to occur on four feeder cables due to water ingress at multiple sections that were previously repaired.

He emphasised that these defects are structural in nature and cannot be sustainably resolved through repeated patch repairs.

“To address this matter decisively, the city has prioritised the full replacement of approximately 1.3 kilometres of each of the four affected feeder cables. This major infrastructure intervention is planned for implementation in early 2026, following the required budget adjustments, and will complete the downstream work necessary to secure reliable electricity supply to the area,” he added.

Mashigo reiterated that the city remains committed to restoring a stable electricity supply and urged residents to exercise caution when interpreting reports or statistics that lack proper context.

He said the metro remains available to engage openly with communities to provide accurate and verified information.

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