Neglected electricity box a potential hazard
A resident is not happy about the condition of the electricity box and disappointed by the municipality's lack of urgency.
HILLCREST resident, Ursula Herbert’s cry to eThekwini Municipality about her unsafe electricity box has yielded no results after several calls and e-mails to the electricity department.
Herbert’s troubles started when her electricity was disconnected on Monday, 1 June. She made a call to the electricity department to report a fault, since her account was paid up. The municipality technicians came out that evening and informed her that the cut-off was due to non-payment, which she disputed, and produced proof of payment showing that the account was not in arrears. The technicians refused to reconnect as no one at the call centre could give the technician the authorisation to do so.
The electricity was reconnected at 9.30am on Tuesday, 2 June. It was only on Tuesday morning, when she opened the electricity box supplying electricity to her home and five other homes, that she realised she had a bigger problem.
“We were in absolute shock when we opened the cover to the box that night and saw the state of the connections for our entire road. In my opinion, this is a fire hazard,” she said.
According to Herbert, the box was not locked and two breakers (numbers one and five) had been removed and had been linked to other breakers. “The system is quite obviously overloaded by the clear evidence of burning and melting of the equipment,” she added.
Bev Clarke, Herbert’s neighbour, shared similar disappointment in the municipality.
“I am saddened that the electricity department left the equipment in such a sad and dangerous state.
“In the event of a fire or meltdown, I wonder how long we, as the residents of Johns Close, would be without electricity,” said Clarke.
Herbert and Clarke both don’t have breakers for their homes in the electricity box. Breakers help prevent fires that can result when wires are overloaded with electricity.
Some of Herbert’s concerns included the electricity disconnection, despite the account being paid, missing electricity breakers, and the electricity box not being secured.
