VANDERBIJLPARK.- “11 days without power supply is a challenge and for that, we apologise,” so said the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) after electricity was restored to parts of Vanderbijlpark after a huge portion of the town of Vanderbijlpark was left in the dark following a fire that broke out in a 11kV switch room at the town’s substation.

The fire has left the residents frustrated due to the chilly weather.

On Sunday, the ELM said that power supply had been restored to residents at NW7 and CW areas.

Customers who were still without electricity were urged to report what the ELM said was “tripping” which normally occurs after a lengthy outage and when there are acts of sporadic incidents of infrastructure vandalism.

“Almost two weeks without electricity is nothing short hell, the municipality does not care about its residents, this is nonsense,” said irate residents of Vanderbijlpark who resorted to using generators and some, outside fires, for cooking and bathing water.

“Yoo, thanks so much, after so long, everything in the fridge is rotten,” another resident said.

Other residents said that a permanent solution is needed for the substation as the situation happens every year, this time.

“There are ways these things can be prevented, seek people who have the know-how, we’d be happy to assist,” the residents advised the ELM.

A statement issued by the ELM said that more work continues to ensure that a similar situation does not occur in the future.

“The municipality would like to thanks the residents of NW 7 and CW areas for their patience while efforts to normalize supply were underway. 11 days without power supply is a challenge and for that, we apologise.”

• For more information contact the Electricity Control Room on 087 310 3369, 087 562 0425, 087 562 0524 or via WhatsApp on: 065 871 7483