A weekend of no power for Welties residents

Residents are in agony after spending the first weekend of June in the cold weather with no electricity caused by a drive of a vehicle crashing into a streetlight pole and electrical pillar box on the corner of Kastaiing and Harebell Street in Weltevreden Park.

According to resident Dion Brown, the incident took place at 22:15 on May 31.

“Various residents, including myself, rushed outside our homes because we heard a loud crash. Upon our arrival, we saw that the vehicle had crashed into a streetlight pole and electrical pillar box, which caused the power outage affecting our area,” Brown told the Roodepoort Northsider.

Brown said several calls were logged with City Power (CP) by residents since Friday evening resulting in them spending the weekend with no electricity or any backup since there was also not enough sunlight to charge solar panels.

On June 3, resident Daniel Larmigny told the Northsider that a team from CP approached the scene where the accident took place to possibly assess the damage but then left.

“It is extremely cold this week, and having to spend all weekend and possibly all week with no electricity would not only inconvenience many, but we also need to think about our families being warm, their safety from alarm systems not being active, and our food going bad,” Larmigny said.

The Northsider contacted CP for comment and later reported that the team is currently on-site in the process of restoring supply. After repositioning the pillar box and repairing the damage, the CP contactors compiled tests, ensuring the pillar box was intact and functioning efficiently.

“We received reports of the accident and understand, especially as temperatures have dropped, that this has caused an inconvenience for the residents. Work on site is progressing well, and we anticipate restoring supply this evening,” the spokesperson for CP Roodepoort Service Delivery Centre, Isaac Mangena, said.