Undisclosed power cuts poses threat to Alberton North family
The Thompson family of Alberton North cries foul to the municipal of the city to help them keep their mom alive by fixing an electricity problem they are facing as the community.
Unknown times for recurring power outages in Alberton North threaten Evelyn Thompson’s health. She lives on an oxygen concentrator to survive.
Her son, an unhappy resident in Alberton North, Herbie Thompson, fears for his mom’s life due to the regular power cuts in the area.
According to Herbie, these power failures are not a result of load-shedding, but a breakdown at any stage of the electricity delivery process within the area.
“My mother lives on oxygen and every time we experience these power supply interruptions, my life immediately goes on hold because I must think of different ways to help her as the interruptions go on as 14 hours,” said Herbie.
Although Evelyn has been living on oxygen since December, she does not know the exact cause behind her short breath. The most recent medical reports showed that part of her lung collapsed, which makes it difficult for her to breathe properly.
Apparently, the power-cut matter has been going on for quite some time and it happens mostly every second day.
To accommodate this matter, Herbie bought an oxygen inverter and a generator to always ensure that they do not go off without energy.
However, these alternative energy sources do not guarantee the Thompson family that they will always be connected to energy to keep the oxygen concentrator afloat.
“I sometimes find myself having to make stressful choices between going to work or buying petrol to continue the oxygen therapy because it is the only source to keep my mom alive since the inverter lasts for approximately two hours,” said Herbie.
The worst-case scenario the Thompson family faced was having to rush Evelyn to casualties at the nearest health centre where she was admitted from Thursday to Saturday due to poor oxygen intake.
Councillor of Ward 37, Ivan Naidoo, said he is aware of the matter as this occurs often in the area. He has reported it to the department of energy.
“The issues on power outages vary from theft, vandalisation and switches tripping at the Elgar power station. The upgrading of the sub-stations and mini sub-stations are part of the five-year IDP PLAN for the ward to handle the workload, as sometimes the grid is overloaded,” Naidoo accounted.
Naidoo advised the ward to switch off all unessential appliances to reduce the overload.
