Residents of Reservoir Hills and Clare Estate have been left in the dark since Friday, after multiple cable faults left them without power, leading to food spoilage and safety concerns.
Yogesh Naidoo, director of the Reservoir Hills Ratepayers Association NPC, said the prolonged electricity outages had crippled over 50 streets across Reservoir Hills, Athol Heights (Westville North), and Clare Estate.
He said while the bulk of the power was restored late on Monday, several streets still remained without electricity by Tuesday.
“Residents and businesses had food spoilage. This has resulted in increased household costs due to the wastage, reliance on gas, generators and battery-operated devices. There has also been severe disruption to livelihoods, particularly for those working from home and small businesses.
“In addition, there have been heightened security risks due to non-functioning lights, alarms, and electric fences. The explanation by the city fails to provide clarity, omits critical timelines, and does not address the root cause of the infrastructure collapse or the sluggish response time by the electricity department. This is not an isolated event,” he said.
Naidoo said they demanded immediate action, full accountability, and a commitment to long-term solutions.
“Should these demands be ignored, we will escalate this matter to the National Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Public Protector, the South African Human Rights Commission, and other regulatory bodies.
“The continued degradation of services and the burden placed on our communities is a violation of our constitutional rights to dignity, safety, and basic services. We will not accept silence, excuses, or vague assurances,” he said.
Kavir Boodoo, chairperson of the Clare Estate Ratepayers Association, said most of the residents, who were elderly and relied on their social grants, had lost all their refrigerated goods.
“We were left vulnerable during the power outage. The municipality showed no pity to the plight of the people. Everyone was left wondering when the electricity would return,” he said.
Reservoir Hills resident, Rakesh Maharaj, said he lost a month's supply of meat and other food items.
“We had to throw everything out from the freezer. The outage happened a few days after we did our shopping for the month. We lost close to R2 500 worth of food. It was a tough time. We had to make a plan to cook our food and safeguard ourselves in the dark,” he said.
“I also had to buy solar lights, which cost us around R1 200 for the inside and outside and another battery for our alarm system. The battery got damaged during the outage. This set me back another R1 000. We had to borrow a gas stove and buy gas to cook,” he added.
“This is going to set us back financially. We would have to dig deep into our pockets to replace the lost items. I shudder to think about how the elderly residents who survive on their pension will manage,” Maharaj said.
Meriska Pillay, another resident of Reservoir Hills, lives with her 69-year-old mother.
“As two women living alone we were terrified. We stayed locked indoors and did not open the windows or door out of fear,” she said.
Alicia Kissoon, the Ward 23 councillor said: “While we are fortunate that waterworks remained operational, the real and lasting damage was in our homes, schools, and small businesses. Financially our communities are already hanging by a thread and it seems like the municipality is holding the scissors.
“The city’s vague statement on Monday was not only delayed but wholly inadequate. A five-day outage and with no detailed explanation or restoration schedule, is simply indefensible,” she said.
Kissoon said small businesses, particularly in under-resourced areas, were bearing the brunt of this crisis.
“Many relied on expensive generators just to stay afloat, with some already on the brink of collapse due to the current economic strain.”
She said schools were not spared either.
“Teaching continued but in an environment that was not safe or conducive to learning. Imagine trying to teach children in classrooms that are in darkness.
“The municipality has proposed a budget that looks good on paper but fails to meet the needs of the people. We need a budget that works for our communities,” she added.
The city said in its statements that multiple cable faults led to intermittent service disruptions since Friday.
“Subsequently, on Saturday, our Riddick distribution substation experienced an internal explosion, which resulted in additional outages in the area. The substation has since been repaired.”
The city said following these incidents, there were further outages caused by unrelated cable faults.
“Our teams are currently addressing these issues. While some areas had their power restored, we anticipate a gradual return to full service, as the affected areas are served by different power sources.”