Edenvale in black mood over power cut

File photo: Mike Hutchings

File photo: Mike Hutchings

Published Sep 3, 2014

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Johannesburg - Sporadic power outages that have plunged 70 percent of Edenvale into darkness since Sunday have left residents fuming.

Eskom says the Northrand Edenvale cable tripped, causing a power failure that affected residents and businesses in the Edenvale CBD, Edenvale, Eastleigh, Eastleigh Ridge, Glendower and its extensions, and Dowerglen and its extensions.

Eskom’s Gauteng corporate affairs manager Reneiloe Semenya said technical teams were working round-the-clock to bring back supply and it was estimated that the power would be restored by this evening.

In the meantime, Eskom and the Ekurhuleni municipality are implementing a three-hourly load rotation in the affected areas to ease the impact on customers until the power is fully restored.

“Eskom technical teams have been dispatched to the site to assess the extent of and repair the damage. Consequently, extensive planning and execution are required to restore supply to the affected areas, which is estimated to take an extended period of time due to the complexity of the situation,” Semenya said.

Gerry Leach, an Edenvale resident, said he had had power sporadically since Sunday night.

“I am a pensioner who makes a small living by doing computer work. This has now come to a standstill. I also had a knee operation which requires me to put an ice machine around it to reduce swelling, and I have not been able to do this either.”

Ekurhuleni call centre staff would not tell him what the problem was or how long it would take to fix, he said.

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