Constant power failures leave residents feeling hopeless

Residents of 11th Street in Delarey raised their concerns about the power constantly failing and questioned City Power (CP), which only fixed part of the problem.

Ben Dube, a resident, explained the power went out on November 9 and only came back on November 15 around 18:00. Such a long period without power is however nothing new to them, he noted they have struggled with similar power failures for almost a year now. He noted CP would come to fix the issue down the road on 11th Street, but as soon as it rains, the power would trip again. This is due to the power cable not being covered properly and rather sticking out of the ground, making it vulnerable to the weather, especially rain.

Obakeng Makonyanetau, another resident, added the substation on 12th Street is vandalised regularly, which also influences their power supply.

Aside from losing their appliances and having to pay extra money to have them replaced, they are afraid for their safety, as the entire street is dark and you can not see well. Makonyanetau noted not too long ago a woman who lives on the same property, was chased by two men with a knife, luckily she made noise and her mother could open the gate for her to quickly run inside. Regarding the extra expenses, Dube noted he has to replace his groceries constantly as the fridge goes off, which has cost him an extra R1 200 each month. His TV also blew costing him another R1 000 to have it repaired in October.

Makonyanetau noted they are not the only ones living on that property, there are students as well as others who work online, and when the power goes out they are unable to do anything.

CP has not responded to the Roodepoort Record’s request for comment by the time of publication, as soon as comment is received, an update will be published.