142 streetlights need to be fixed in Joburg
Blairgowrie electricity box will finally receive attention after years of no maintenance.
City Power have finally repaired a street light that has not worked in Blairgowrie for months and has ordered a lock for an electricity box on the same street which has not been maintained in years. However, its spokesperson has admitted the entity cannot keep up with the demand for infrastructure repairs.
This follows Fir Street resident Darryn Newcombe taking these matters to the media after reporting them to City Power time and again without receiving help.
“Every time I log a call, they close it the next day though nothing is fixed,” he lamented. “When they can’t even get the small things right it makes you lose hope.”
Also read: City Power can’t even fix the small problems in Blairgowrie
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the utility, ‘cannot keep up with the high demand to repair and replace damaged infrastructure and the cost implication of replacing various materials’, yet the entity still understands the safety and security streetlights offer to residents and how they combat robbery and hijacking.
So, he asked residents to continue logging faults, even though City Power is sitting with 142 streetlight calls that need to be resolved, 14 of them logged within the last two days.
“City Power has a spotting team that drives around the main streets during the night to identify faulty streetlights, and this exercise occurs bi-monthly,” he said. “When the light is off, the technicians will investigate the cause of the fault. Once the fault is identified, the material is ordered, and replacement occurs. This exercise happens over and above the technicians responding to calls logged by residents.”
Grass grows up through the electricity box to waist height. It has been sprayed with graffiti in the past, but Newcombe has painted over it himself. In fact, many years have passed since the box has been locked shut.
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