City Power has blamed endless electricity outages in Bramley and surrounding areas on vandalism and cable theft.
The entity’s spokesperson Virgil James, said during winter, City Power often experiences an escalation of unplanned outages due to cable theft and vandalism.
James was responding to the questions sent to him by North Eastern Tribune regarding the worrying outages, with residents complaining. Elizabeth Tagg from Eden and Forest roads, raised the alarm when she contacted the Tribune requesting assistance in dealing with her frustration.
Read: Residents of Bramley in electricity fiasco
She said the problem has been going on for ages and they worry that the situation has not been addressed, even though they reported it to the authorities.
“This is really inconveniencing, especially when you have to go away during the holidays because you worry about your appliances and groceries needing electricity. The problem started in November 2016 with our electricity tripping every two to three weeks.
“On a number of occasions, only a few houses are affected, which are houses behind mine in Eden Road and those in Forest Road and further up,” said Tagg.
Responding to the questions, James said the power outage, with reference number CPWEB 2123961 referred to in the email, was caused by a cable fault, contrary to Tagg’s claim.
He said the problem started in the night on 20 May, and it affected Bramley and surrounding areas, he added that the power supply was restored on 21 May.
Read: Kew resident’s electricity bill upset
“City Power has prioritised resources to address these challenges. We do, however, find ourselves already overwhelmed at this point, due to the extent of cable theft including damage to cables by third party trenching,” said James.
Damaged cables usually explode, thus having a ripple effect on other related equipment that normally requires 24 hours to repair, he said.
James added if other faults are discovered, this extends the repair time substantially, hence residents can be without power for up to three days.
James said, where possible, aluminium cables are used which have no value to thieves, thereby further ensuring an uninterrupted electricity supply.
Constant monitoring of the network, maintenance and new technologies are part of ongoing efforts to reduce outages.
Details: City Power 011 375 5555; www.citypower.co.za
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