Eskom operators at the Bryanston substation earlier today. Photo: City Power/ Twitter
Bryanston and Roodepoort power woes extend over 24 hours
Residents of Bryanston and Roodepoort have been sitting in the dark for over 24 hours only to be fed inaccurate correspondence.
Eskom operators at the Bryanston substation earlier today. Photo: City Power/ Twitter
Residents of Bryanston and Roodepoort in the City of Johannesburg have been sitting in the dark for over 24 hours.
DISSECTING THE BRYANSTON AND ROODEPOORT CRISIS
These suburbs began experiencing power interruptions on Monday, 8 May and the problem has worsened as their cries seem to be falling on deaf ears.
Parts of Bryanston have been out of power for three days while Roodepoort’s surrounding areas have been out over 24 hours.
City Power reported that operators were site running the fault in Bryanston substation and also reported that operators were balancing the load, and gradual restoration was in progress. However, none of the residents have seen their lights go on since the communique 7 hours ago.
ALSO READ: Cat and mouse game: Eskom disconnects, culprits reconnect immediately
CITY POWER COMMUNIQUE TELLING A DIFFERENT STORY
In Roodepoort, repairs have not been effective as initial communications suggested that power would be restored at 14:30 (but that never happened). The latest report from City Power is that repairs will resume after loadshedding.
“We are aware that power is not restored in Harveston and some parts of Wilgeheuwel, however, due to loadshedding, repairs will resume at 20h30 after loadshedding.”
City Power
ALSO READ: Roodepoort 8am to 8pm power outage leaves residents fuming
POWER UTILITY TO PRIORITISE SOME AND IGNORE OTHERS
Could residents of Bryanston and Roodepoort be victims of City Power’s new policy to ignore non-paying customers?
ALSO READ: Minister of Electricity: “Eskom workers will resolve load shedding”
Yesterday, City Power announced that it will no longer assist customers who are not paying for electricity during power outages.
City Power made the announcement in the back of the pressure the entity has been receiving since Eskom implemented Stage 6 loadshedding.
The entity has spent most of the day attending to complaints from various parts of the metro whose areas were not restored after loadshedding including Roodepoort. With the pressure to attend to every complaint, the city announced that it will only prioritise customers who pay.
Interview an interview on Newzroom Afrika, City Power spokesperson Issac Mangena said,“We are really at a stage where we are not going to respond to any calls, especially from people that have not paid”.
ALSO READ: Eskom tips on using a gas stove safely during loadshedding
