Sonneglans residents bemoan power cables snaking through their streets
City Power says these cables do not pose a risk to residents, who call these an eyesore.
Sonneglans residents are tired of what they call an eyesore and a mess that City Power has made in Witdoring Road. Long power cables hang over the road before reaching between trees, twirling around their trunks many times and entering electricity boxes which are never locked and have their doors hanging open. Cables that have been patched have tape hanging loose from repair points, a substation is not locked and has a gaping hole in the door.
One particular box is the greatest problem, with temporary cables snaking around the street to the six homes it supplies. This box has had its share of outages, faults, surges and other issues for years.
“In May we didn’t have power for two days, and before that we had other outages when the box kept blowing up,” explained Ravi Kastala. Fellow residents Glen and Susan Findlay, Verna Meintjes and Eric Tladi bemoaned the state of the street after each incident.
“We never see a permanent fix,” Inge Poyner added her voice. “It is like they just leave the cables out because they know there is going to be a problem again.”
Ward 101 councillor Ralf Bittkau said incidents like this were common accross his ward and the city.
“A lot of it has to do with a lack of budget and too many outages,” he said. “The temporary fix also comes out of a different budget to the underground cable. It is a major bain in my life as we have these cables hanging across roads.”
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the Randburg service delivery centre acknowledges the high number of temporary fixes in the area, though he could not say when permanent ones will be made.
“A temporal solution is offered to customers when the team locates multiple cable faults, and specialised material is required, which is currently unavailable,” Mangena said.
“Most customers opt for a temporal solution. The design of our temporal solutions does not pose a risk to residents as the wires are insulated, meaning the cables have a protective layer that will not electrocute anyone touching the wires. The cable only poses a risk to someone who tampers with the line and cuts it open. The team clears the site and ensures wires are neatly bundled together.”
He said a team has been dispatched to clear the line for residents to ensure the cable does not pose a risk to residents.
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