The heavy rains that hit Tshwane and other parts of Gauteng this week have resulted in prolonged power outages. Picture: Thobile Mathonsi African News Agency (ANA)
Pretoria - Heavy rainfall that is persistently wreaking havoc in different parts of the country has also damaged electrical infrastructure in the City of Tshwane.
As a result of the damage to the municipal electrical network, many residents have had to endure prolonged power outages which were outside the scheduled time for load shedding.
Frustrated and angry residents have taken to social media to berate the municipality for intermittent power cuts, which has left some areas in darkness for days.
This week the City said it was aware of the prolonged outages and that it was taking action to “manage the electricity crisis”.
MMC for utilities and regional operations Daryl Johnston said: “We are aware that residents are experiencing extended outages and we sincerely apologise for this.”
He described the situation as “uncharted territory”, saying the City has never experienced such high levels of damage to electricity infrastructure, nor such difficult wet weather conditions which make it extremely challenging to do repair work.
“The reality on the ground is that we cannot test a cable and repair it when the power is out due to load shedding,” he said.
Compounding the problem, he said, was the fact that electricity infrastructure in waterlogged ground also becomes very dangerous.
“All these challenges combined, lead to prolonged power outages.”
Additionally, he said, the metro was experiencing heightened crime, with vandalism and theft costing millions of rand of unbudgeted damage, which was straining the budget for the year.
“It needs to be said that as long as load shedding continues, the City’s infrastructure is under threat. Summer rains just make a terrible situation worse. This is not business as usual.”
According to Johnston, the City’s teams were committed to addressing the situation and would work throughout the festive season to manage the crisis as best as they possibly can.
“The City of Tshwane, and indeed the country at large, is struggling with load shedding and heavy summer rains, which are causing massive challenges for our electricity network.
“These electricity outages are not unique to Tshwane, as other metropolitan cities are also experiencing the same challenges with load shedding and heavy rainfall that result in numerous electrical faults,” Johnston said.
Pretoria News