Polokwane power outages hit tourism, guest house owner says
A Polokwane guest house owner says ongoing power outages are damaging business and ruining the experience for tourists visiting the city.
POLOKWANE – Management at Avonlea Guest House on 69A Plein Street has voiced frustration over ongoing individual household power outages in Polokwane, saying the blackouts are damaging the business and ruining the experience for guests visiting the city.
The complaint comes after the City of Polokwane issued a public notice addressing the surge in power-related calls on Tuesday. In the statement, the City said it is aware of the problem and is working to resolve it.
“Polokwane Municipality wishes to assure residents that all reported calls relating to power outages affecting individual households will be attended to,” the notice read.
According to the municipality, its call centre has received a substantial number of outage-related calls and all logged service requests have been noted and will be attended to by the Energy Services unit, urging residents to remain patient while technical teams work through the reported faults.
The municipality clarified that the outages are not related to load shedding and are being treated as individual household faults.
However, for businesses like Avonlea Guest House, the outages are more than just an inconvenience.
Tourism relies on reliability
Dr Iwan Scott’s business hosts tourists and business travellers in Polokwane. The outages have affected guests’ experience, their personal assistant, Esme van der Merwe, told Review Online.
Van der Merwe said their solar system is affected by overcast conditions as it relies on the sun to charge, and nights are worse as it cannot charge.
“It’s very upsetting. We run a guest house, not just a home. When the power goes, guests cannot take hot showers, charge their phones, or feel safe at night. We lose food in the fridges and we lose bookings because of bad reviews,” she said.
“Tourism relies on reliability. People come to Polokwane expecting basic services. We have logged the fault with the municipality but we need urgent action. We cannot keep telling guests we are waiting for the municipality who has simply told us to be patient.”
What the municipality says
The City says all faults are being logged and prioritised, but with a high volume of calls, response times may be delayed.
Residents are encouraged to continue reporting outages and to use the MyPolokwane App for faster tracking.
To report electricity-related issues:
- Municipal Call Centre: 015 290 2000
- Energy Services: 015 290 2490
