Mjondolo residents concerned about their appliances and the elderly as power cuts plague their area.
“What’s worse is that these outages are not planned so we cannot unplug our appliances to prevent damage,” says Moloi.
KwaThema – Concerned resident of Mjondolo, KwaThema, Mokhele Motatinyane says they are tired of the constant power outages they have been experiencing for the past three weeks.
According to Motatinyane, the power outages started around June 25 when there was a planned power outage that was due to the upgrading of the 11Kv Switchgear panels at the KwaThema main substation.
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“After that outage, the electricity was supposed to be restored at 8pm, and it was only restored two days later.
“After that, there was an unscheduled power cut everyday, sometimes more than once a day,” he says.
Motatinyane says that this only happens in their area because when they stand outside and look out at neighbouring areas, their lights are on.
“If the power cut happens at night, the power is only restored the following morning at around 7am.
“On one day, the power was cut at 6.30am while I was preparing to go to work.
“I was able to get ready for work, but am more concerned about the elderly who live in the area as the majority of the residents in the area are senior citizens.”
This, he says, is because many of them have to take their medicine in the mornings and cannot do so on an empty stomach.
“In addition to them being unable to make breakfast for their pills, I am anxious about how they are expected to navigate their way around a dark house because there is a heightened chance that they might slip on something and hurt themselves,” he says.
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His neighbour, Kgotso Moloi, says he is also concerned about their electronics.
“I have a neighbour whose microwave has stopped working, and we are all afraid for our electronics because should they be damaged, we have no one to hold financially accountable for that.
“What’s worse is that these outages are not planned so we cannot unplug our appliances to prevent damage,” says Moloi.
Motatinyane says he has reported the matter to the Metro and was told that an illegal connection in Barcelona is the reason for the constant tripping because the load on the power is too heavy.
The Metro failed to respond to our request for comment by the time of going to print.
