Residents at odds over illegal connections affecting power supply in Mlungisi

 

Picture: ABONGILE SOLUNDWANA

Residents of Q section and Aloe T informal settlements in Mlungisi were involved in a heated exchange with ward 12 councillor Xoliswa Williams this week over illegal electricity connections believed to be causing blackouts.

The electricity ‘theft’ apparently overloads the power system, leading to outages.

At an abruptly called community meeting on Thursday, Q section residents called on the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality to put a stop to the power theft while those from Aloe T told the municipality to resolve the informal settlement’s power problems before cutting off illegal connections.

Meanwhile, the EMLM announced earlier that the new transformer for the western substation that had been destroyed in a fire had arrived, and work to install it had already started.

The power station had caught fire six weeks ago, affecting Madeira Park, Kings Park, Amberdale, Westbourne, to name a few. The areas had since had to ‘piggyback’ on alternative substations.

According to a post on the municipality’s Facebook page, the new 20MVA transformer was purchased from Eskom in Mpumalanga.

The installation process began when it arrived on Wednesday and is expected to take three weeks to complete.

“Apart from the transformer, the municipal service provider will also install cables and all other material that got damaged. Furthermore, the substation will also be reconditioned after a number of theft and vandalism cases had taken place in the past. Breaker protection of the substation will also be revamped as part of technical protection,” the post read.

The municipality says it has deployed a security company to guard the site against intruders to prevent future break-ins and sabotage. A new fence to beef up security at the substation is also set to be installed.

 

LEAVE A REPLY