Joburg, Tshwane battling prolonged outages amid stage 6 power cuts
City Power in Johannesburg and the City of Tshwane say all available resources have been deployed as the two cities battle to resolve prolonged power outages amid the ongoing stage 6 load shedding.
The 6 load shedding is expected to last until Friday due to breakdowns at several of Eskom’s power stations and the utility’s need to conserve diesel supplies.
Joburg’s MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Service Michael Sun says City Power has deployed all available personnel to attend to outages and instances of cable theft.
"It is an unfortunate fact that state blackouts translate into lengthy outages as pressures on our infrastructure increase exponentially. Johannesburg’s ageing network is simply not designed to be powered up and down, and to withstand the impacts of rush currents several times a day without running the risk of severe technical faults.
“Controlled blackouts also provide a handy schedule from which cable thieves are able to operate without running the risk of high-voltage electrocution.
“City Power has ensured all available personnel – including team leaders and management staff – are on the ground to ensure the speedy resolution of outages and faults," says Sun.
Meanwhile, Tshwane Mayor Randall Williams says a team has been established to focus on resolving power outages.
"In Kosmodal, a team of technicians is on-site busy fixing the second cable which will be tested before energising.
“In Soshanguve, materials have been sourced. The inclement weather continues to be a challenge, however, technicians remain on-site to effect the necessary repairs.
“Theft, vandalism and illegal connections continue to significantly impact our network and ability to restore supply.”
ALSO READ
