The comment from the City of Ekurhuleni is as follows:
The department acknowledges recent electricity outages that affected Alberton North and surrounding areas. The assumption that maintenance, or the supposed lack thereof, is the cause of the recent outages is incorrect. The number one contributor to outages in the Alberton North area is third-party interference. The municipality is not immune to the crime levels that residents and businesses in the area are subjected to.
Our infrastructure is frequently targeted. Mini substation and substation doors have been welded due to previous instances of theft and vandalism. Although this assisted to limit theft of equipment out of substation and mini substations it has a negative impact on restoration time in case of faults on the network, as enclosures must be grinded open.
Furthermore, some of the consumer substations in the industrial area are located inside the premises, and access after-hours is difficult as premises are locked for security reasons. We will engage with property owners to arrange 24-hour access while not negatively impacting on security measures put in place by property owners.
The recent outages from June 1 to June 4 are due to cable damages and cable failure. There is evidence that cables were damaged during excavation. Currently, fibre optic installers are working in the area. Contractors will be charged for every cable damage proved to be damaged by the actions of the contractor, in terms of the schedule of tariffs.
Damaged medium voltage cables were restored on June 3. Currently, an area around 1st Avenue, 2nd Avenue, Van Riebeeck Avenue and Radio Street is off due to low voltage cable damages.
The Energy Department expected that the affected area will be restored before 4pm on June 4.
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