Extension 15 residents claim they are experiencing worse municipality load-shedding since they were connected to the mobile transformer at Bracken substation.
Last month Govan Mbeki Municipality’s executive mayor, Mr Nhlakanipho Zuma, switched on the electricity supply for extensions 14, 15, 17 at the Bracken mobile transformer as they were moved out of the Ext 5 substation to reduce the load and to curb the damage to infrastructure and municipal load-shedding.
Residents said since they were connected to the mobile transformer they are experiencing more load-shedding than before and have spent days without electricity.
“We were hoping for the better but we see the worst. Even our councillor Ms Smangele Ntuli doesn’t give us clear answers on the situation we are in.
“She keeps on telling us that she called the senior electrician but she doesn’t tell us what is causing the daily load-shedding,” said Mr Lucky
Ngwenya.
“We hoped that being connected to the mobile transformer, our electricity crisis will go away. They must rather take us back to Ext 5 where we were used to that substation load-shedding,” said Mr Ngwenya.
Some alleged that Eskom switched off the mobile transformer because the company wants the municipality to sign the service agreement.
Residents demanded their councillor must make sure that electricity is restored because she promised to serve them before she was elected.
Ms Ntuli told the newspaper that she was interacting with the senior electrician at eMbalenhle who told her that they were checking on what was causing the electricity trip. She was later informed that the electricity supply had been restore at Ext 15.
Mr Elijah Mkhombe, senior electrician at eMbalenhle told the newspaper that the problem was not at the Bracken mobile substation. High voltage cables had burnt and left Ext 15 without electricity but they managed to fix the problem.
He also said they were attending to electricity problems while trying to reduce loads by moving other extensions to Bracken.
“Connecting the various extensions to the Bracken substation is being done in phases. Extensions 9,12 and 4, which were the first to taste the Bracken mobile transformer, are now out of load-shedding unless there is a breakdown.
“Those extensions, including extension 15, that were recently switched on by the executive mayor, Mr Nhlakanipho Zuma, will not experience load-shedding unless there are burned transformers or breakdowns.
“But we request that residents work with us and pay for services to get stable electricity, said Mr Mkhombe.
