City Power battles 340 power outage calls as some technicians held at gunpoint

City Power has asked communities in Lenasia to safeguard cables from theft as it deals with 340 calls from its Lenasia service delivery centre.  

The Johannesburg power utility said on Wednesday morning 190 of the 340 calls were over 24 hours. 

“We remind communities that rainy weather can delay or disrupt work on site,” it said.  

Eldorado Park and Lunar substations have been restored.

In Soweto, the utility team couldn’t complete the work as it was held at gunpoint.  

Problem areas are:  

• Nirvana substation: 94% of power has been restored after a mini-substation flashed. Areas affected: part of Lenasia ext 5;  
• Nirvana substation: A Tuesday night post-load-shedding outage in Thembelihle sections N and F was caused by overcurrent. Operators will resume work on Wednesday after safety concerns due to a protest on Tuesday night;  
• Soweto substation: The team could not finish jointing on Tuesday as a tree blocked their way and they were held at gunpoint and had to be evacuated from the area. The outage was caused by a cable fault. The team will attend to the site on Wednesday. Areas affected are Pimville zone 9, Kliptown Hotel, Joscho flats and Golf Course RDP houses;  
• CBD switching station: A post-load-shedding outage likely caused by overcurrent in Mid-Ennerdale, and Lawley 1 will be attended to. Operators restored the area, but it tripped again after more load-shedding at 5.30am; and  
• Lenasia South/Lunar substation: Operators have been notified of a post-load-shedding outage in Lenasia South ext 4 on Tuesday night at 10.30pm.

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