Winter, a month with constant power outages
Protea Glen residents without power for seven days.
Residents of Protea Glen barricaded a road leading into extension 11 last week Tuesday in an effort to get their plea to get their electricity working again heard.
Following an afternoon and morning of protest, Eskom responded to the community’s call and fixed the problem that was disturbing the electricity supply.
The residents were without electricity for seven days, this is the longest time they have gone without electricity according to a resident, Mbuso Sibiya.
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The protest according to them was peaceful and was merely meant to get Eskom’s attention.
“We have been without electricity for seven days now and Eskom was taking too long to respond to our calls so we decided to take matters into our own hands. Our protest wasn’t violent, we were just burning tyres so we could get Eskom’s attention,” said a resident in the area, Jessica Sibisi.
Ward 135 councillor Elliot Sithole spoke to Eskom in an attempt to speed the process up. “When I got here, the residents told me they are not fighting with me or even Eskom. They just want Eskom to come and do their job,” Sithole said.
@Eskom_SA customers are requested to direct all customer services queries to sharecall number 0860037566 / SMS 35328 / customerservices@eskom.co.za or send their queries via MyEskom Customer App available on https://t.co/99xBTCodMz .
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) June 10, 2018
Eskom was said to be aware of the problem but was slow in fixing it according to Sithole who liaised with an Eskom technician. Eskom technicians, according to community leader Mafika Ndlovu, came earlier in the week to inspect the site they suspected was problematic but proceeded to leave it uncovered and a potential danger.
“This is what led to us taking a decision to protest, that was unsafe, what if a child came and played with those wires? “Ndlovu explained.
The area has however been experiencing problems with its electricity supply for two years now according to the residents.
What to do & what to look for when experiencing power failure. https://t.co/mAanpAEN8S @CityPowerJhb @eThekwiniM @City_Ekurhuleni @_ArriveAlive @polokwane_city @AlexNewsZA @METROFMSA
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) June 10, 2018
“Every winter we experience these problems but this was the longest time without electricity,” said Thabang Mahao, a resident in the area.
The lack of electricity not only affected the daily lives of residents but has also left a dent in the monthly budget of the residents as they had to rely on takeaways.
“Life was hard without electricity, we had to bath with cold water and our budget is messed up because our food has gone off and we spent a lot of money at the mall,” said another resident, Oupa Matsie.
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