Ward candidate and residents hit out at City Power over persistent outage

Frustration is mounting among locals following a prolonged power outage that has disrupted daily life, driven up household expenses and raised concerns about safety in the neighbourhood.

The outage, affecting Beryl Avenue and Minerva Street, was first reported to City Power on October 17, with residents reporting that they had been without electricity for days while awaiting repairs.

Read more: City Power restores Bryanston streetlights, but vandalism threat remains

Speaking to the Sandton Chronicle on October 27, Ward 91 DA councillor candidate Heather Trumble said residents had approached her about the ongoing outage and the delays in restoring their electricity supply.

“The problem is that the power has been out for almost two weeks, and City Power keeps on telling us that they are sourcing material. So, we keep on waiting for them to source material,” she said.

Trumble added that residents had repeatedly been informed that repairs were complete, only for further problems to emerge during testing. “They tell me that they finish it and then they have to get the test branch out and then they find another problem. They keep on needing to have to source material. They never seem to be able to source all the required material,” she added.

She said residents were becoming increasingly frustrated by the situation and called for greater accountability from City Power.

Also read: City Power replaces damaged Bryanston mini-substation after vehicle crash

Resident Darren Bell said the latest outage had lasted 10 days by the time he spoke about its impact on October 27, leaving households struggling to manage basic daily needs. “It impacts everything, food going off, no hot water, having to use a generator which costs in excess of R500 per day in fuel. We pay our utilities religiously month on month, however they still estimate the usage,” Bell said.

Beyond the financial burden, Bell said the lack of electricity had heightened security concerns, particularly because streetlights were not working and some residents’ alarm systems had run out of power.

“Anyone who has solar, batteries are running flat as there is only so much that the sun can do. Safety is a huge concern at the moment,” he added.

Also read: City Power brings services closer to Ward 104 residents

Responding to a media enquiry from the Sandton Chronicle on October 28, City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena attributed the outage to theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure.

He confirmed that the fault affecting Beryl Avenue and Minerva Street was first reported on October 17, and that the restoration process was delayed because the replacement equipment needed to complete the repairs was not immediately available.

Mangena confirmed that the required equipment had since been obtained and that a service provider was on site carrying out the outstanding work.

He explained that City Power teams repaired the initial fault identified on the switch on October 26. However, further testing revealed that the switch remained faulty and needed to be replaced. “The additional fault was identified during the final testing process, which is necessary to verify that the equipment is functioning correctly before the electricity supply can be fully restored,” Mangena said.

At the time of City Power’s response, electricity had been restored to 98% of affected customers, with the remaining work focused on replacing the faulty switch and completing the necessary tests.

Mangena said the utility anticipated restoring electricity to all affected customers by October 29, provided the work proceeded as planned.

He said the outstanding repairs included completing the switch replacement, conducting final tests and safely restoring supply to the remaining customers.

City Power said it would continue providing affected residents with updates as work progressed.

Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates!