Africa-Press – South-Africa. Residents of the Kanana sections of Rabie Ridge in the Thembisa area say they have been living without electricity for three months after five transformers exploded.
A group from extensions 4 and 5 took to the streets this week to demand the power be restored. The protest began on Monday morning and continued throughout the night until Tuesday morning. Roads were blocked with burning tyres and stones between Kanana Primary School and Modderfontein Road.
An Extension 5 resident, who asked to be identified only as Mandla, told TimesLIVE he is frustrated by having to spend more on food because he can’t use his fridge.
“When the electricity went off for the first week, all the meat I had in the fridge was spoilt and I had to throw it out,” he said.
Another resident, Lebohang, a new mother with a one-month-old baby, said she is struggling to keep them warm without electricity.
“I use the paraffin stove outside the house to keep my child safe from the smoke and smell of paraffin. They have to install new transformers for us,” she said.
Councillor Melody Hlatshwayo and police addressed the community.
Hlatshwayo accepted and signed a memorandum from the community.
“I will forward the memorandum to City Power to fix the matter,” she said.
According to City Power, only 5% of Rabie Ridge residents pay for electricity, while the remaining 95% use illegal connections which have put an extreme strain on the grid, leading to equipment failures and infrastructure damage.
“Disruption in Extension 5 is caused by overloading linked to illegal connections to nearby informal settlements,” City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena told TimesLIVE.
Mangena said they have replaced a number of damaged transformers in the area, but it has become difficult to sustain, as replacing infrastructure due to illegal connections impacts on their plan to meet electricity needs across the city.
“We have replaced five pole-mounted transformers since the start of the year and they all exploded as a result of illegal connections,” he said.
To address the power challenges, Mangena said City Power plans to install smart prepaid meters in Rabie Ridge and surrounding areas where illegal connections are common.
“We urge residents to permanently address illegal connections with the councillors and community leaders.”
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