There were widespread reports of power outages across Bothasig, Burgundy Estate, Richwood, Summer Greens and Table View last Friday.
Residents say they were left without electricity for more than 24 hours in some cases, and it was frustrating not knowing when their power would be restored.
Ntombi Kwakho, of Summer Greens, said that although there was chatter on the local WhatsApp groups, no one knew when the problem would be resolved.
“Since around 4pm on Friday, the power just went out. We knew it couldn’t be load shedding because it was not scheduled for that time. Hours went on and still no resolution. It was about half of Summer Greens that didn’t have electricity. The other half was spared from that mess. We had to ask friends and acquaintances to charge our phones, laptops and other devices. It was such an annoying time. We went to bed with no electricity, and most of the day on Saturday, it was the same story,” she said.
Another Summer Greens resident, Athena du Plooy, believes the power cuts could be to blame for electricity faults in her home.
“I noticed that some of the plugs in my home are faulty. This could be a result of this recent outage or could be the result of the constant load shedding. My main switch trips at times, and now I noticed my kettle isn’t working. We should not have to deal with things like this. We pay too much in rates and taxes for this nonsense. Now who will fix my things? I know of several people who have had food spoilt because of the unreliable electricity.”
In a statement, the City said it had dealt with a fault in the Summer Greens/Milnerton area, but some of the areas affected by other power outages were supplied by Eskom and not by the municipality.
“A low-voltage fault was experienced in the Summer Greens/Milnerton area from approximately 4pm on Friday January 19. Investigations were carried out. Power was restored to the area on Saturday January 20. The City’s maintenance and management of its electricity network remains top notch. Where area faults occur, the City’s electricity teams attend to faults and restore power as quickly as possible. We are investing significantly in the upgrading and maintenance of our critical supply infrastructure around the metro.”
The City said those who had suffered loss as a result of the blackout could visit its website to submit claims to the insurance department.
Ward 113 councillor Joy Solomon said that the outage in Table View had been caused by a transformer that had caught alight.
“The transformer is on the corners of Gie and North roads. The issue was reported to Eskom and power was restored by late evening on Friday,” she said.
Meanwhile residents in Burgundy Estate and Richwood complained on Facebook about similar transformer faults in their communities.
Eskom asked Tabletalk for reference numbers of reports by residents. Tabletalk supplied a report to Eskom that was made by a Bothasig resident regarding an outage in that neighbourhood.
Eskom did not respond by deadline to our questions about the outages.
