The latest blackout in Blairgowrie on 1 February left residents in the dark for more than two days.
The plight came to light when Vumatel, who was installing fibre, dug up and damaged two cables in the suburb on 1 and 2 February.
Blairgowrie Community Association (BCA) representative Herald Fleishman explained that technicians mistakenly damaged the cables. “They have been on site trying to get the cables repaired. City Power has been a bit slow to repair them,” he explained.
Vumatel marketing officer Kristen Eddey apologised for the inconvenience caused to the residents and explained that the map indicated the cables were a few metres away from where the technicians were digging. “We provided generators to some of the households, we are working closely with City Power and the resolution took longer than we anticipated,” she said.
The outage was just one of many challenges encountered by residents. Ward 102 Councillor David Potter explained that the main challenge was City Power’s failure to dispatch a team urgently when these problems surfaced.
“Wards across the City, particularly those supplied by the Randburg Depot, have been plagued with power outages lasting days,” he explained.
Recently it took the entity 12 days to restore power at a private tertiary facility on the of corner Eileen Road and Geneva Street.
Councillor Potter visited the City Power substation in Blairgowrie on 31 January and found that doors were opened and the aerial conductor cables (ABC) and aluminium cables dumped outside the substation. “It is clear that fuses have been stolen from the substation. Locking mechanisms used were suitable for the security needs of 10 years ago,” said Potter
He further explained that only a few operators were on duty at any one time and failed to attend speedily to issues on the supply network. “Many contractors have no more than a bakkie and a ladder to repair faults high up on poles,” explained Potter.
City Power spokesperson Yumna Sheik explained the entity’s expensive infrastructure has been and continues to be a target of theft and vandalism. She said the entity lost millions every year in security upgrades and the replacement of damaged and stolen infrastructure.
She urged communities to report any incidents of theft and vandalism. “City Power is aware of service interruptions affecting the Randburg Depot, and it is working fervently to improve its generating and transmission capacity,” she concluded.
Details: City Power, 011 490 7607; Vumatel, 087 808 6287; Ward 102 Councillor David Potter, 082 885 9688.
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