Ward 66 residents are outraged at the number of power outages the area has been experiencing the past few weeks.
According to reports by City Power, the outages are the result of ageing infrastructure.
“The power outages in the area are not a ward problem but rather a citywide problem,” said Ward 66 Clr Carlos Da Rocha.
“People use heaters which doubled or tripled the electricity load. This eventually collapses the network,” Da Rocha said.
He said he will keep residents updated through Facebook and email notifications.
“I would like to request that residents check my Facebook page. I always try to put the important messages and information on there.
Also read: Power outages due to theft, vandalism
“If residents experience an outage they should inform me because I might not be aware of the outage,” said Da Rocha.
MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Clr Nico de Jager said there is a massive infrastructure backlog in the city.
“This backlog totaling over R170-billion is the result of a systematic failure to properly budget and spend by multiple previous administrations, borrowing against tomorrow. That tomorrow is now today and we are feeling the effects of that failure,” said de Jager.
City Power advised residents to regularly check the website for planned and unplanned outages. Go to www.citypower.co.za
Planned outages
A planned outage is where an item of electrical plant or a circuit has to be temporarily taken out of service for repair or to allow network alterations.
Generally, an outage of this type will be scheduled in advance and City Power will inform residents of the outage details via the media or by leaflets delivered to premises.
Also read: #POWER_ALERT – Planned power outage for Joburg areas tonight
Unplanned outages
An unplanned outage is a result of the loss of a section of the network due to a fault.
There are several major categories of faults which may occur without prior indication.
It can be cable faults, damage by third parties, severe climatic conditions adversely affecting the networks (such as a lightning strike) and theft and vandalism to electrical infrastructure.
In these situations, there is no possibility of giving consumers early warning of an impending outage.
