City Power has guaranteed Parkwood residents that the repair of the damaged 11kV underground cable between Englewold Drive and Cotswold Drive in Saxonwold remains a priority, in spite of the holdup caused by the unforeseen underground conditions on July 3.

In a follow-up response to the publication, the entity said it could not provide a definite restoration time due to how complex the repair is.

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According to City Power, the excavation revealed conditions that delayed trenching operations before crews could replace roughly 380m of underground cable, noting that these conditions could not have been detected before excavation began.

Teams are on site working on completing the remaining work, consisting of cable installation, jointing, testing and safety checks before electricity can be safely restored.

City Power stated that it would not compromise on these processes, as doing so could pose a danger to both employees and customers while affecting the reliability of the network in the long run.

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The utility added that affected customers have been receiving electricity through a temporary generator while the repair is being completed.

City Power acknowledged residents’ frustration over the lengthy outage and apologised for the disruption, saying that the goal is to provide a permanent solution that will reduce the risk of future failures and improve the reliability of the network.

The utility said it would continue updating residents as work proceeds.

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