Winter fears grow as Capital Park battles endless power cuts
· Citizen
Angry residents and business owners in Capital Park, Pretoria, want answers after prolonged power outages.
DA councillor Leon Kruyshaar said some parts of Capital Park had power outages for four days, then the power returned for 14 hours, only to go out again for another five days.
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Capital Park faces four day outages then five more days dark
Kruyshaar said not only is the infrastructure old, with some of the cables as old as 40 to 70 years, but there was no maintenance.
Kruyshaar said people’s safety has become a concern because the alarms run out and there’s no backup battery power any more.
DA Ward 58 candidate councillor Bongani Gama said the main problem in Capital Park was the power outages.
Gama said another problem in the area was the lack of street lights.
“Criminals use it as an opportunity to steal cables, which results in further power outages,” he said.
Residents concerned as winter approaches
Capital Park Ratepayers Association’s Neels Meiring said he was concerned, especially as winter approaches.
“The power consumption will increase and if we are already getting power outages now, what can we expect in July?” he said.
Meiring said a guesthouse in the area was also taking a knock because guests checked out early due to the power outages.
“I get numerous complaints from angry residents who thought power will be restored in six hours, only to sit without power for days,” he said.
Annetjie van der Merwe, who sells frozen homecooked food, said she couldn’t make money when the power is off.
Can’t make money when power is off
“Besides I need to cook on gas; I can’t freeze the meals. I have to throw away some food,” she said.
Van der Merwe said at some point she stopped buying groceries because it went to waste.
Isazi Propshaft & Battery Pro owner Hansie Jansen van Rensburg said they didn’t have power for three days.
“Every day without power costs us about R2 500 for the generator,” he said.
DA Tshwane spokesperson on utilities councillor Themba Fosi said the city’s infrastructure mismanagement leads to regional electricity infrastructure collapses.