After being left in the dark for days, residents in parts of the CBD can now breathe easier because their electricity has been restored.
The outage affected homes and businesses on Market, Oosterlig, Commissioner and Osborne streets.
Even though Ward 32 Clr Marius de Vos expected the electricity that went off on February 16 to be restored on February 23, the lights came on February 21.
De Vos previously explained that a transformer on the premises of Pedlars Place, an apartment block on Market Street, gave in and needed to be replaced.
When the Advertiser visited Pedlar Place on February 20, the caretaker, Madelaine Steyn, described the situation as chaotic.
A resident at Pedlar Place, Ann Fouche, explained that she had osteoarthritis and recently had a back operation, so she had to bathe in cold water because of no power.
The director of Boksburg Printers on Commissioner Street, Johnson Mkhavele, said the outage costs the business a lot of money.
According to De Vos, these power outages need further and proper investigation.
“Councilors are now the communication channels for the municipality. Clients and residents don’t even call the call centre anymore. They call the councillor directly, who, in most cases, is not informed about the challenges the energy depot is experiencing.
“Large parts of the Anderbolt industrial area went on February 21 as the power supply to parts of Boksburg North got restored.
“The elderly people living in Andries Scribante old age facility are also severely affected by a two-day power outage affecting Cason.”
De Vos said the energy depot has been working around the clock to try and restore these outages as quickly as possible. However, with criminals having a field day in the absence of the police, it is untenable.
“This phenomenon of rolling power outages is unprecedented. Businesses are incurring huge losses in income generation. If this situation is not arrested speedily, more people will definitely join the unemployment statistics of this country,” he added.
The Boksburg Advertiser is still awaiting comment from the metro.
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