Residents of Germiston have voiced their frustrations about the ongoing load shedding.
Christina Brandao, from Gerdview, claims that certain areas seem to be affected by load shedding on a daily basis while others seem to never be affected.
“Why is this?” she asked.
“The schedule available on the metro’s website www.ekurhuleni.gov.za is hardly ever adhered to.”
Residents in Albemarle have had similar complaints, with many reporting that load shedding can go on for more than three hours at a time, with no explanation from the metro.
Many have also complained that they are often unable to get through to the call taking centre and, if they do get through, the call is often dropped.
“I don’t understand what is going on with regard to load shedding in Germiston,” said Rodney Hesketh, an Albemarle resident.
Benaud Barker agreed with Brandao: “Could someone establish from the metro why it is that the same areas are being affected by load shedding on a regular basis and outside of the published (and meaningless) schedule?” he asked.
“This week Hazel Park has twice been down at dinner time.
“Followed by a morning bout of load shedding, despite being load shed for three hours the day before.
“How come I never see the Vosloorus area without power?
“Every night I drive down Webber Road on my way home and every night that area (clearly visible from the top of the hill) is lit up like a Christmas tree.
“I get the distinct impression that only certain areas are taking the pain for this monumental problem.
“I’d really like to see the list of which areas have actually been load shed and when.”
A angry resident of Tedstoneville, who does not wished to be named, also questioned the load shedding schedule being used by the metro.
“Why do we have to put up with load shedding, but Ramaphosa’s street lights are on every day of the week, even during the day; this includes the flood lights being on during the day,” she said.
“Where my house is situated I can see everything and I just think it is unfair that we pay so much for electricity, but have to put up with load shedding.”
Derek Morgan shared his frustrations about the after effects of load shedding.
“For the past 10 years we have had the problem of a fuse blowing in the sub-station in Turnhout Avenue, in Primrose, between Amsterdam and Van Riebeeck roads whenever the power in the area is cut,” he explained.
“This fuse affects the power supply to about 10 houses in the area, and the problem has just become worse with the ongoing load shedding.
“Recently we had load shedding from 5pm to 8pm; we had lights for a few minutes and then the fuse blew – the lights were only put back on the next morning.
“Why must we wait so long to have the fuse replaced or put back on?”
The GCN has contacted the metro on several occasions in an attempt to get comment on these ongoing issues.
After several weeks the metro replied with the following statement from Themba Gabede, spokesman for the metro:
“Load shedding is based on when Eskom declares that load shedding is to be implemented,” he said.
“Existing schedules on the www.ekurhuleni.gov.za website are the current schedules.
“There will be changes in future to cater for areas which could have been omitted.
“There were maintenance issues in Albemarle, such as transformer maintenance, which have caused delays in switching consumers back on.
“Albemarle should be back to normal by the end of this week.”
Other issues raised by residents were not commented on.
Other articles on power outages in the metro:
Faulty breaker responsible for power outage
Power outage blamed for opening delay
