Swarm of bees disrupts Eskom efforts to restore power [WATCH]

Power was finally restored to Lenasia South just before 1am on Wednesday, after Eskom technicians had to wait for a beekeeper to smoke out a swarm of bees in three electricity pylons.

The suburb was hit by a power outage on Monday after severe weather, with lightning striking the electricity pylons, plunging the suburb into almost 50 hours of darkness.

Bee power

Several shops and takeaways without generators closed their doors, unable to serve customers because of the power outage, while residents on social media expressed frustration about spoiled food and family members who needed power to run their oxygen machines.

While electricity was restored, Eskom technicians had to wait about three hours to smoke out the bees before restoring power.

It is believed that the bees had been occupying the pylons for about two years.

“Lenasia South Substation: Power supply is fully restored to customers in Lenasia South Ext 1, 2, 3 and 4, Daxina Hospital, Lenasia South Hospital and surroundings,” Eskom said.

“We would like to thank you for your patience and apologise for the inconvenience caused.”

ALSO READ: Lenasia South, Ennerdale and Lawley still in dark following cable theft

City Power

City Power initially responded to the call, stating that it had conducted preliminary investigations to determine the cause of the outage.

“No fault has been identified on our network. There is a fault on Eskom’s side. One of the current transformers (CT) blew up during the restoration process. As a result, further investigations and repairs will be conducted.”

Power outages

Lenasia South has been plagued by power outages in recent years due to severe weather and cable theft, leaving residents without power for several days.

In 2024, Residents of Lenasia South and Ennerdale vowed to teach politicians a lesson over the lack of service delivery when they head to the polls on 29 May.

Parts of Lenasia South and Ennerdale were without power for almost three days after criminals targeted three substations, stealing about 400 metres of cable.

With the Islamic month of Ramadan beginning on 17 February, Muslims in the Lenasia South community will hope there are no further outages that disrupt their preparations or meals to break their fasts.

ALSO READ: Lenasia South and Ennerdale residents vow to teach politicians a lesson