City Power lacks power
RANDBURG – City Power is aware of the service interruptions affecting the Randburg Depot.
week seldom passes without any complaint from residents about power outages, smart meter problems or City Power’s failure to fix fault problems in the greater Randburg area.
Ward councillors have complained that feedback and adequate communication from City Power was frustrating and often leaves residents in the dark.
It was established that the main challenges at the entity’s Randburg depot have been persisting for the past six years without any improvements.
Ward 102 Councillor David Potter said it took City Power a long time to fix electricity faults. “I do not see any improvements. The manager is trying but resources are not up to standard,” he said.
He explained that he had received more than 18 complaints from residents since November last year.
Meanwhile Ward 104 Councillor Mike Wood added that the major problem was the time it took the entity to fix reported problems and restore power.
He explained that most of the contractors from the entity did not even know the place. “I receive 20 to 30 complaints in just one month. We go to City Power to report the problem but they don’t give us feedback,” he said.
Ward 96 Councillor Matome Mafokwane said the municipal manager should be authorised to attract the most skilled employees and claimed that it was clear that subcontractors were contributing to infrastructure vandalism.
“The Randburg Depot needs human resources if it has to fulfill its core mandate of offering services to the residents,” he explained.
He explained that in the past two months he received more than 34 complaints from residents about power outages. “I maintain that people with a high level of skill are needed,” concluded Councillor Mafokwane.
City Power spokesperson Yumna Sheik acknowledged that the entity was aware of service interruptions affecting the Randburg depot and it was working fervently to improve its generating and transmission capacity.
She said the entity has invested millions of Rands to refurbish its substations across its area of supply in Johannesburg.
She also blamed the problem on the ageing infrastructure and increasing electricity demand.
“City Power together with the City of Joburg is building new power stations and refurbishing existing ones in order to boost its generating capacity. New substations on the capital programme that will be built include the Lutz substation and those earmarked for refurbishment include Kloofendal and Wilropark substations,” she explained.
She concluded that the entity has a range of platforms that could be used to lodge complaints.
Meanwhile Eskom has applied for another tariff hike. The power utility is looking for another R22 billion to keep the lights on
Details: City Power 011490 7607; Ward 102 Councillor David Potter, 082 885 9688; Ward104 Councillor Mike Wood, 082 853 2174; Ward 96 Councillor Matome Mafokwane, 084 564 0160.
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