Light at the end of the tunnel: Eskom to restore power in Macassar
Cape Town - Eskom says power should be restored to many Macassar residents on Tuesday afternoon, while others will remain without electricity due to the attempted theft and vandalism of a light voltage cable.
Macassar residents on Monday night protested over Eskom's failure to provide the area with electricity. Residents burned tyres and blocked roads and said they have been experiencing power issues since August.
Macassar ward councillor Peter Helfrich said the cable that is supplying the area with electricity is too fragile to be used.
“There is a main line of Eskom coming into Macassar and is running on Macassar road past the new developments in the area. Initially some time back the contractor struck the Eskom cable, and the cable was damaged and that was the initial power outage that we experienced. We found out that the cable destroyed by the contractor was already damaged because it has been there for more than 52 years. For the past ten years, we have been asking them to replace the cable,” said Helfrich.
Eskom said they met with Macassar community leaders on Monday to discuss the ongoing electricity supply outages that have been affecting customers in recent weeks.
“On August 27, 2022, electricity to Macassar was affected for approximately five days due to multiple faults caused by cable damage due to construction contractors carrying out roadworks in the area.”
Eskom said since the initial incident, numerous faults have occurred on the underground cables due to the continuous civil construction taking place in the vicinity.
“Operators are concluding repairs and the estimated time for the restoration of electricity to Macassar is 17h00 on Tuesday, 11 October 2022.
“A small portion of customers will remain without electricity due to the attempted theft and vandalism of a light voltage cable, however, operators will commence repairs shortly,” said Eskom.
Mayco member for energy, Beverley Van Reenen on Tuesday said she and Helfrich have personally been in contact with officials at Eskom regarding the situation in its supply area.
“In an effort to speedily resolve this matter, I have invited officials from Eskom and the City’s Urban Mobility Directorate to a meeting this Thursday to explore possible long-term solutions and interventions to urgently address community concerns.
“While the focus remains on restoring power to the remaining affected areas, I call for calmness in the area and for residents to exercise restraint as the matter is receiving urgent attention.”
Cape Times