Over the past weeks eMalahleni has seen a number of power cuts, it’s not load shedding, in fact it’s the breaking of a number of cables throughout eMalahleni’s old infrastructure.
“We have experienced a number of cable breaks, these cables are roughly 30 years old and should have already been replaced,” said Mr Theo van Vuuren, administrator of Emalahleni.
Talking about old infrastructure, the first thing that comes to mind is the troubles and issues that are constantly arising, including the water and sewage problems. But these don’t compare to the disdain the community feels when their foods rot and expire due to there being no electricity to power fridges and freezers.
On March 25 there was a cable fault between Malherbe and Driehoek substations. This affected Klipfontein, extensions 5, 8, and 41. On top of that there was problem at Doornport Substation which affected roughly 70% of eMalahleni, including Highveld Park, Blanchville and Model Park. The technical team was however able to fix the fault.
On March 26 power had been restored to most areas of eMalahleni except for extensions 5, 8, 16, and 41, and Tasbet 2 and 3.
Most of eMalahleni was covered in darkness from 20:30 to 21:30 on Saturday, March 29, however this was no power failure but instead residents chose to give up their right to electricity, for a single hour as part of the Earth Hour initiative. South Africans saved a total of 575MW of electricity during Earth Hour.
The following day the suburbs fed by Buffer Substation were without electricity as technicians from the electrical department shut down the substation for repairs and maintenance. This affected Vantra, Chartech, Ferrobank, Ackerville, Lynnville and KwaGuqa.
“We are working on getting the power situation under control, however we have no direct solution at the moment except for dealing with the issues as they arise, the power situation is as bad as the potholes,” said van Vuuren in an interview.
The number of outages has lead to a great loss of produce for most residents, who will be even more upset to learn that they cannot claim damages from the municipality.
Residents had this to say about their damages caused by the interruption: “Fridge and freezer contents spoiled and gone off, fish dying, to name but a few,” Diane Goberdhan, Duvha Park. “We had to restock our freezer and fridge, all the meat went off and dairy products from the fridge, it’s disgustingly expensive to replace anything these days,” Claire Owen, Extension 16.
“Many people in our building lost all food in fridges and freezers. Most are pensioners and widows,” Louise van Niekerk Naude, Montgomery Court.
“If you suffer damages due to electricity outages you cannot claim from the municipality. The regulations being applied by Eskom and all municipalities acknowledge that electricity cannot be guaranteed and therefore the municipality and Eskom can not be claimed against. Household insurance however does cover damages of this nature and where proof of an incident is required the municipality can on request furnish a letter to indicate the nature and time of outages,” said the administrator on his Facebook page.
As part of public preparations for a potential power crisis this winter, it’s essential to check with your insurer exactly what your policy covers should you have a claim as a result of a power failure. Not all policies cover damage as a result of a power outage.
The administrator added that there is a planned power outage on April 1 at Davel reservoirs, this will affect Kriel Power Station and in turn affect Forzando Mine, Ga-Nala and Thubelihle. The outage is planned to start from 07:00 and no finishing time has been given yet.
In a statement released by Eskom, Eskom cautions the public that the next two months are critical to the power supply as Eskom continues with its maintenance program to get its plant in better shape and ready for winter.
The power system remains tight and balancing demand and supply is a daily challenge. Eskom calls on all consumers to pull together and use electricity sparingly by ‘Living Lightly’. They request all electricity customers to save at least 10% of their electricity usage and sustain these savings.
Residential and commercial customers can make the biggest difference by switching off geysers and pool pumps from 17:00 to 21:00.
Eskom also recommends switching off non-essential lights and switching off air conditioning unless necessary, in which case it should be set at 23°C.
For tips on how to trim 10% off your consumption, click here
Watch the interview with Administrator Theo van Vuuren
