December started badly for families living around Hoërskool Wonderfontein as their electricity went off during the early hours of the first of the month. Although a storm caused the electricity to go off in most of Carletonville and Welverdiend, the municipal electricians were able to restore it in other areas. They found, however, that the Wonderfontein substation had been vandalised by criminals.
The municipality initially indicated that the electricity supply would be restored by Friday, 3 December. The deadline passed and the affected area still did not have electricity by the time the newspaper went to print on Wednesday.
The ward councillor of one of the affected areas, Mr Carlos Rebelo, reported to the affected residents on Tuesday. He said that, according to the municipality, they were struggling to get hold of a new mini substation to replace the vandalised one. They were reportedly waiting for it to arrive from the supplier.
Meanwhile, residents elsewhere in Carletonville and at Water’s Edge, Fochville and Wedela, were also without electricity at times.
Of these areas, only Plot 21 at Watersedge, the area around the Carletonville Sports Complex and Umzimkhulu, Letaba, Kaolin and Marico Streets and a part of Coronation Street were still without electricity. The problems in Carletonville apparently stemmed from a cable fault that the municipality was “working on”.
The municipal spokes-person also promised that the problem at Plot 21 would also be sorted out as soon as possible”. She said the municipality expected to resolve the problems at the Wonderfontein substation by Thursday, 9 December.
Many residents complain that the substations are vandalised because they are not locked. When the Herald brought this matter up with the municipality on Tuesday, however, the municipality claimed that “most of them” were locked. Merafong asked for a list of addresses of those that were open. Anyone who notices an unlocked electrical substation should email the name of the street in which it occurs to adele.louw@moovaalmedia.co.za to have it forwarded to the municipality.
