Cape Town - After a week of taxi strike unrest, the City’s energy officials are now continuing to see to the remainder of the 50 000 electricity service requests recorded in June 2023.
Damage to electricity infrastructure had specifically been triggered by severe weather conditions, vandalism-related faults, load-shedding and secondary tripping at the time.
The City is aiming to fix the outstanding electricity cases lodged after a week of having to pause their service because of the unforseen strike disturbance.
About two months ago, the energy department saw to a whopping 50 000 cases across the metro, during which its street light teams had to attend to approximately 9 785 street light service requests.
Mayco member for energy Beverley van Reenen said when these complaints came through they dispatched various teams to more than 10 different areas at a time, including Valhalla Park, Hout Bay, Atlantis, Gugulethu and Langa, among others.
“The record-breaking service requests that our teams attended to show that we have been working around the clock to ensure that we assist residents as quickly as possible despite the very challenging circumstances they face on a daily basis.
“The taxi unrest had an impact on our service delivery to communities. However, City teams are now on the ground, dedicated to delivering services and making up for lost time.
“We are urgently working through the backlogs. We are attending to service requests with caution and with the assistance of City law enforcement.”
In areas where teams are only able to operate with a security escort, it could also lead to delays in service requests being attended to, said Van Reenen.
While apologising for the inconvenience, Van Reenen also shared tips on how residents can help reduce secondary tripping. Community members are encouraged to reduce the risk of nuisance tripping by switching off major and non-essential appliances prior to load-shedding.
Nuisance tripping typically happens when the electricity does not come back on or switches off shortly after supply has been returned to an area.