Centurion residents block road over electricity woes
Some residents said they had no power for seven days, severely affecting business owners and households with young children.
Residents gather at the intersection of Ruimte and Philirene roads in Centurion on Thursday morning to protest over a lack of electricity. Photo: Bennitt Bartl
Raslouw Manor residents took to the streets on Thursday morning, in protest after they were without electricity for seven days, reports Centurion Rekord.
After giving the Tshwane metro an ultimatum to restore their power supply issues before 7am, residents were joined by local ward councillors Kingsley Wakelin and Malcom de Klerk as they blocked the busy intersection of Ruimte and Philirene roads in Centurion.
Police and metro officials arrived shortly thereafter to reopen the road.
Residents said they had been without power for a week, while others in the immediate vicinity had their power restored.
“The substation in Pretoria West blew up this week, and the residents had power before us,” one resident said.
“There are about 174 houses here which have had no power for seven days and seven nights.”
Another resident said she had spent R2,000 on petrol to run a generator which only allowed her to keep the lights in her home on.
“I have had to make arrangements for my children to stay with my brother in Rooihuiskraal just so they can bath,” she said.
“Some neighbourhoods around us have had power despite the rain but we are left in the dark.”
A local business owner who worked from home said he had lost a week’s worth of production as a result of the power outage.
“I have engaged every single person I know in the council to help me,” said Wakelin.
“We were told power would be restored by midnight on Wednesday evening, but that didn’t happen.
“I am being hampered from doing oversight work in my own ward and this is not acceptable. It is not a political matter, it is a residential matter.
“These residents are being inconvenienced and I plead with officials to help us.”
The power was restored shortly after the protest on Thursday morning, according to Wakelin.
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