The Addie published an article (Springs Advertiser, February 26) regarding the street lights burning in Springs, after which Ekurhuleni responded.
Spokesman for Ekurhuleni Themba Gadebe says the energy department went around the Springs area to check all the points where lights remained on day and night and fixed them.
“It was discovered that, mostly, it was the fuses that were burnt, such as in Jan Smuts Street,” he says.
In Coaton Road it was just a bypass which was also fixed and in Wit Road situated at N17, the contactor was burnt and was replaced.
“At Wit Road and Charterland Street it was also a burnt fuse.”
Andy Bezuidenhout (71), a retired qualified electrician, showed the Addie last week where the lights are still burning in Selection Park.
“There are more than 60 street lights in this area that are constantly burning and have not been fixed,” he says.
Bezuidenhout explained that one of these street lights use around 70 watts each.
“Multiply that by 60 and you get the kilowatts that all these lights use, which is 4.2kw per hour and when you multiply that by 24, that is the number of kilowatts or units that these street lights use during one day.”
He says that these lights have been burning non-stop for a month and says he can’t understand why Ekurhuleni and Eskom always warn the public that they should use electricity sparingly, but in the same breath waste it in this manner.
“How many households can that amount of electricity supply?”
The Addie contacted Ekurhuleni again regarding the matter, but no comment was received at the time of going to print.
