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City Power Technicians Left Locked Out, Frustration Mounts Over Substation Repair Delays
Angry residents in parts of Randburg have been told to escape prolonged power cuts after technicians from Joburg City Power reported they were locked out from a switching station. Per IOL, most parts of South Africa have been load-shedding-free for over 25 days, and power utility Eskom is remarkably able to meet demand. However, some areas have been affected by unplanned and routine outages.
One of these areas was the Randburg suburbs, including Bromhof, Sonneglans, Northwold, and surrounding areas, which suffered a sudden power outage at about 10 p.m. on Saturday. City Power assured residents through a public statement on the same evening that it would dispatch a team and apologised for the inconvenience caused. However, by 9 a.m. on Sunday, City Power remarkably updated residents, saying they could not access the switching station as they did not have the keys.
Randburg Outage Update
Date: 21 April 2024
Time: 09h10Hummer Switching Station: Tripped last night. It is affecting customers in Sonneglans, Northwold,Strijdompark, Bromhof ,and neighboring vicinities.
The team is currently on site, and access… pic.twitter.com/CBW50m8RQx
— @CityPowerJhb (@CityPowerJhb) April 21, 2024
Also read: City Power Initiates Disconnection Drive Aimed at Defaulting Businesses
“Hummer Switching Station tripped last night. It affects customers in Sonneglans, Northwold, Strijdompark, Bromhof, and neighbouring vicinities. “The team is currently on site, and access is hindered, which now means that the team can not conduct investigations,” said City Power at 9.08 a.m. on Sunday. This understandably drew furious responses from residents who offered to bring their bolt cutters to allow technicians onto the site. In contrast, others went through the call centres and found out through call centre agents responsible for handling the switching station keys.
Another user noted: “There is another entrance 100m away from that one. That is open! “I was told at 4 a.m. this morning repairs are underway, at 7 a.m. they were en-route and now they can’t even access their own station,” wrote an angry Aimy. “Wow @CityPowerJhb yet again, you cease to amaze us all,” wrote another Aimee. “Have you gained access, surely you have the contact details for this, or know of another way to get in to access your property? “This is not a good reason, it’s been over 12 hours. Please urgently resolve,” wrote Kim van Melsen. “We will replace the chain and lock please just put our electricity on please man,” pleaded Leandra Gouws. “I can personally come and cut the lock if that’s what the issue is,” wrote Brendan Campbell.
Over four hours later, at 12:50 p.m. on Sunday, City Power reported technicians had gained access and were inside the switching station. Other suburbs experiencing power outages include Weltevredenpark in Roodepoort, which suffered a multi-day power outage just last week, and Lenasia, Reuven, Johannesburg, Parktown, Berea, and nearby areas.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” said City Power.
Also read:
City Power Dismisses Strike Allegations, Denounces Threats Against Employees
Picture: X / CityPowerJhb
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