It seems the slogan; “Power to the people” means something totally different in Mbombela as some residents have been without electricity for 50 hours as a result of damage to the West Acres Substation. However, despite some of the residents being reconnected, the electricity keeps tripping and the City of Mbombela (CoM) workers are still working on the issue.
One of the community members, Pippa Botha, said they are happy that some of the affected areas have been reconnected, even though it keeps tripping because it is still being worked on.
“They worked the whole night fixing the damaged cables and mini substation. Today, we have been informed that the remaining areas will be reconnected so we are hoping that by the end of today all residents will have power,” she said.
ALSO READ: Cable theft the reason for West Acres Substation damage and breakdown
People are advised to switch off all their electrical appliances to avoid damage. Those who have been reconnected have been urged to only use the most important equipment to stop adding pressure to the system.
Ward councillor for the DA, Thea Rix, said the largest part of West Acres which had been without electricity is on again, but power is being turned on one section at a time so that if there is a problem, it can be fixed immediately before moving on to the next mini substation.”We believe that everyone will have power soon and we are pleading with residents to be patient,” she said.
While some of the residents said that they were forced to throw away their meat because it rotted, others took it to their relatives to put it in their fridges. Those with small children have opted to stay with relatives and friends in order to be able to prepare formula and food for their children.
