Extreme weather conditions and cable theft are the reasons why parts of town experienced a recent power outage. This also affected the water supply.
Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) confirmed many in Randfontein were affected by a power failure on Friday December 3 that was caused by extreme weather.
Senior communications officer at RWCLM Godfrey Selepe Moutloali said power has been restored in many parts of town including the Randfontein CBD and where hospitals are located but warned the issue was exacerbated by cable theft.
Initially, the power outage was caused by a rain storm last Friday. Technicians attended to the matter immediately but they then discovered that criminals were taking advantage of the situation and stripped power cables off electricity pylons which affected many substations,” Moutloali explained.
Moutloali added the power shortage also affected the water pressure as reported in some areas.
“When electricity is off for sometime, water pressure can be affected. If power goes out for an extended period, levels of water in reservoirs decline or does not have enough pumping power. So yes, a power outage can ultimately affect water supply,” Moutloali said.
