Following four days of widespread electricity outages in Nelson Mandela Bay, the Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, promised power to be fully restored by September 1.
Ramokgopa made this promise on Wednesday, August 28, during an oversight visit of the four collapsed 132 kV overhead transmission towers that toppled due to gale-force winds in the Metro.
The overhead transmission lines collapsed late last week.
In total, 14 neighborhoods in wards 1, 2, and 4 have been plummeted into darkness since last week.
Affected neighborhoods include Summerstrand, Schoenmakerskop, and Forest Hill, among others.
Meanwhile, Ramokgopa said Eskom will assist the Metro in restoring power to residents as soon as possible.
Ramokgopa said,
Ramokgopa further said that towers in the Metro are still at risk of collapsing due to aging infrastructure. However, he assured residents that the municipality would be working on replacing or refurbishing these.
The Metro’s Deputy Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe said the municipality would explore other means of further connecting households to the power network to alleviate power outages in areas around the Metro.
She said options that are being explored include underground electricity networks.
She said,
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Ramokgopa said due to local issues, the Metro needs an estimated R1.7 billion to accommodate the city’s growth, and load reduction will continue due to local government issues.
“This is the tip of the iceberg. Local government has competing priorities and extreme demands.
“Electrical issues are a common story in local government, and this is how they manifest themselves. The primary casualties are community members and businesses.”
