Residents in different parts of the City of Tshwane were on Monday left stranded after a severe storm that swept through the municipality on Sunday, damaging electricity infrastructure and leaving many residents in the dark.
Areas such as Pretoria North, Wolmer, Wonderboom, Pyramid, Waltloo, Koedoespoort, Rooiwal and Soshanguve were affected after a 132kV line Bellom-Parktown tripped due to the storm.
The City said work to repair the extreme damage of the 132kV conductors and broken suspensions on the pylon was stopped on Sunday night due to safety concerns for the employees.
At Proclamation Hill, the medium voltage ring feeder circuit tripped due to a network fault, according to the City.
Frustrated residents took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the municipality's response to the power outages.
Others bemoaned the fact that Grade 12 learners, who are busy writing their final examinations, were unable to study at night owing to lack of electricity.
Some took potshots at the newly-installed political administration, calling for the collapsed multiparty coalition under former Mayor Cilliers Brink to be brought back.
One of them said: “Bring back Mr Cilliers Brink...things were a bit better in Tshwane when he was in charge. Why were we not given an option to challenge this as residents? We don't want this new mayor. Only politicians were allowed to participate in this vote of no confidence nonsense, aren't we supposed to have a say in this? Waste collection and electricity is an issue since this new mayor was appointed.”
Municipal spokesperson Lindela Mashigo yesterday said the municipal technicians have been dispatched to various regions to attend to outages plaguing different parts of the City.
He said outages were as a result of recent severe thunderstorms that caused great damage across most parts of Tshwane, leading to power supply interruptions.
Mashigo said: “The storm uprooted trees and, in some cases, caused tree branches to fall on the road or on overhead power lines, causing power trips which resulted in prolonged blackouts in and around Tshwane.”
He reported that technicians have been overstretched due to the size of the network that they cover and the number of outages experienced over the past hours, resulting in a massive restoration backlog.
“The resultant backlog is exacerbated by the need to prioritise the safety of our technicians who are not allowed to work on the network in wet and rainy conditions,” he said.
Human Settlements MMC Aaron Maluleka is expected to visit affected areas to ensure that assistance is provided where needed.
Mashigo said: “The MMC is due to inspect homes in Soshanguve that have suffered significant damage, including roofs that were removed by strong winds during yesterday’s storm.”
Maluleka said the current administration is committed to supporting those affected and was coordinating efforts to restore services and provide relief to residents.
“We urge all citizens to stay safe and report any emergencies or ongoing issues to local authorities,” he said.
Pretoria News