Another Germiston business, apart from those in Germiston CBD, was left without power for two weeks since June 11.

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According to Deidré Bloem, business manager at BP Petrol Station at South 36 Power Street, it was the second time this year they had to resort to using a generator because of power interruptions.

“Earlier this year we were cut off by the metro when they were disconnecting people who owed the city money. We were without power for days, contacting the call centre almost every day. Initially, they came to restore our power,” said Bloem.

Bloem said they have contacted the call centre since June 11.

“They keep saying they are escalating the matter. On June 22 technicians arrived to inspect the electrical box. They left without fixing the problem,” she said.

“They said they received the call on June 21. We have been reporting since June 11,” said Bloem.

“We spend R2 500 a day on fuel to power the generator.

“We visited the Germiston customer care centre twice a day and we have even been to the MMC’s office for assistance,” she said.

“This is a costly exercise as we are running our generator to keep the garage operating.

“With the current petrol price and us barely surviving, Ekurhuleni is showing that they are not concerned with the business in Germiston.

“We are paying customers of the City of Ekurhuleni and to have to literally beg for services,” said Bloem.

She said the municipality lacks communication and that frustrates residents and business owners.

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“It is frustrating because every time you speak to someone they are escalating the matter but nothing gets resolved.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, they would say they were short-staffed. All they have to do is to communicate and say we are aware of the issue and we are monitoring,” said Bloem.

“Businesses are not respected enough. We understand load-shedding.

“Law enforcement has to be proactive as well to minimise cases of cable theft which is a contributing factor to many businesses losing power.

“Service delivery in this part of the town is poor.  If it is not sewage, it is a power interruption.

“The council takes its time to respond to our complaints,” she said.

“Our staff is also affected by this power problem.

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We are forced to operate on a minimal staff because we have no power.

We have been operating for more than 20 years and the power in this area has gone from bad to worse,” said Bloem.

The GCN requested a comment from the City of Ekurhuleni by Friday, June 24 at 10h00.

The enquiry was acknowledged on June 22.

At the time of going to print no comment had been received.