Ridgeway pensioner cries foul as City Power won’t pay up
Ridgeway pensioner Cassim Patel believes City Power needs to reimburse him for the loss caused by power outages.
Cassim Patel, a pensioner from Ridgeway, is fed up with the service, or the lack thereof, from City Power after his appliances were destroyed due to a power surge on December 17 last year.
He said his electrical power failed because of suspected cable theft and a lot of his electrical items blew up,
“I contacted City Power and they requested from me all relevant documents and receipts for items I had to replace, like my laptop, modem, cables, radio, kettle, microwave, gate motor, switches and a lot of light bulbs.
“I was issued a claim form and waited for over three months for the claim to be finalised. I was then told by City Power’s insurer, African Dawn Solutions, that the claim was finalised on February 25.
“After over three months of waiting, I was then told that the claim has been rejected. I feel that the claim should have been paid,” explained Patel.
When the COURIER visited Patel, he presented all the damaged goods and pleaded that he gets help. “I don’t know what to do now. I have even sent an email to City Power CEO Mongezi Ntsokolo in vain,” he said.
No negligence
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said they forwarded a public liability claim form to Patel to assist him with his claim for the damage that happened to his appliances because of a power surge.
“City Power received a completed claim form with all the relevant documentation from Patel and immediately instituted an investigation into the cause of a power surge, which was then followed by a compilation of a technical report.
“The technical report was then forwarded to City Power’s insurance broker for decision-making. The insurance broker found out that there was no negligence on the side of City Power. It also found that City Power was also a victim of the power surge because it was caused by theft and vandalism of a City Power infrastructure.
“City Power appeals to the community to work with it to stamp out theft and vandalism of its infrastructure. It is in the interest of both the public and City Power for residents to report cable theft incidents,” explained Mangena.
Report criminal activity
Mangena said residents should be on the lookout for suspicious construction vehicles working on their electrical network, whether marked or unmarked and report them to City Power Security Risk Management (SRM) control room at the following numbers, available 24 hours: 011 490 7900/11, 011 490 7553 or the toll-free number 0800 003 251.
“Residents should also report trolley pushers to the above-mentioned numbers should they suspect them of cable theft. The more residents report cable theft incidents, the more City Power becomes aware of escalating trends in communities where these incidents are taking place and can dispatch resources to areas where they are highly needed.
“Contractors contracted to City Power and City Power employees should produce the City Power ID cards on request.
“However, the public, communities, neighbourhood watches and CPF members must take precaution when observing criminal activities as most of these syndicates are armed and dangerous. Rather observe and call SAPS for back up and contact SRM control room at the numbers mentioned above,” he said.
