Apart from having to endure load shedding, residents in Bothasig had to endure extended power outages this past weekend, due to suspected cable theft. The theft occurred along the N7 highway, one resident told TygerBurger.
Residents expressed their unhappiness this weekend on several of the community’s social-media pages, demanding answers.
Derek Serra, a local, said on Monday they had to go without electricity for more than a day. “Residents are understandably angry and desperate. It is a major story, and we want to put pressure on Eskom to get their act together. Most of Bothasig was off from 07:15 yesterday morning (Sunday). Half the affected area was restored at 14:00, but the rest of us are still off, and it is 27 hours and counting.”
He said cable theft was the reason for the outage.
Ward councillor Miquette Temlett said attempts had been made to contact Eskom and have it restore power. She issued a press release on Monday.
“The power outage tormenting our community is not just an inconvenience,” it said, “it is a glaring manifestation of the incompetence and negligence emanating from the bureaucratic black hole known as Eskom.
“Bothasig has now been without power for more than 36 hours, and I am yet to get any feedback from Eskom as none has been forthcoming yet,” she said.
“Alleged vandalised power cables have exposed the vulnerability of our so-called power supply giant, and the deafening silence from Eskom is nothing short of a disgrace.”
Eskom issued a press statement on Monday afternoon explaining the reasons for the outages. According to the power supplier cable theft and vandalism of Eskom’s infrastructure along the N7 has resulted in the loss of electricity supply to customers in Bothasig.
“Repairs are in progress and technicians are close to restoring electricity supply with the estimated time for restoration currently at 21:00 today (Monday).”
It says illegal connections, cable theft and the vandalism are a major problem through the Western Cape that poses a serious threat to the network causing continuous electricity supply problems to customers and local businesses.
