Cables exposed
FERNDALE – Power cable survives ample opportunities for theft.
Brain Allen, a concerned resident from Ferndale, says that an electricity cable in West Avenue was left exposed for 6 weeks
Allen said that when Palm Slopes Complex lost power due to a broken switch in a substation on the street, City Power subcontractors connected the complex’s power box cable to the power box of another complex next door – the Dunwest Place. The cable ran through trees down into the boxes on the pavement and was easily accessible.
“Children walked past and it was not safe,” said the resident. “With rain there could have been a short circuit. Plus the cable could have been stolen.”
Allen claimed when he phoned City Power two weeks ago, they gave him a phone number to call, apparently the number of the area manager.
The resident said he phoned that number three times every day, for two weeks, but the manager was always busy.
“The secretary said she would get him to call me back, but he never did. I told the secretary someone will steal the cables and she just said ‘sorry, the manager is not here’,” he explained.
Allen, then contacted the Randburg Sun, which then inquired from City Power. The spokesperson for the entity, Sydney Mphahlele said City Power responded to the query within three days. Mphahlele said the problem in the substation was resolved this month and the cable between the complexes was removed.
Details: City Power 011 375 5555.
