Delft residents fed up after week-long power outage
Frustrated Delft residents took to the streets this week to protest against a week-long power outage affecting various parts of the community.
Areas such as Voorbrug, Leiden and Eindhoven have been largely affected by power outages for almost a week.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the residents of Eindhoven started burning tyres as a cry for help.
Eindhoven resident Charles George said: “The community is facing a humanitarian crisis after a continuous power outage, with no clear restoration date from Eskom.
“The outage coincides with severe cold and wet weather across the Western Cape, which has already forced the provincial government to close schools due to safety concerns.
“Our community has lived in darkness and cold. Elderly people are at risk, mothers cannot feed their babies, and crime is rising.
“We are not asking for favours. We are demanding the basic service we pay for.”
Ward 20 councillor Dineo Masiu for Leiden and Voorbrug said that the complaints have been logged to Eskom; however, there has been no progress.
“The power outage is due to cables being stolen, and because of that, the transformer blew. There are residents in Voorbrug and Leiden who have been without power for more than a month. The people are very angry because Eskom is not responding to them, they asked me what must they do, and I told them that I have tried everything.
“I contacted the management of Eskom asking for feedback, and I was told that the managers are on leave and the residents should contact the call centre, which the residents already did and have reference numbers. There are a lot of houses without electricity.”
The PR Councillor (Proportional Representation) of the Democratic Alliance for Ward 106, Sweetness Phelisa Mzolisa, said that the entire ward is struggling to get electricity.
She added: “Only the streetlights are working because that is supplied by the City of Cape Town; however, the houses are without power, which comes from Eskom.
“The issue is we have a lot of illegal connections in Eindhoven. When Eskom’s people are in the area, they move, but then another illegal connection happens.
“The past four days, we have had power outages due to the weather. But because of extortion, they [Eskom] need to be escorted in order to service the areas because they have been robbed.”
Eskom said in a statement: “Eskom recovery teams remain on the ground across the Western Cape, continuing restoration work following the severe storms that have impacted large parts of the province since last week.
“Eskom technicians have been working under extremely difficult and often hazardous conditions, including persistent rainfall, strong winds, flooding, and challenging terrain.
“Restoration efforts are ongoing. Eskom continues to prioritise repairs based on network dependencies and safety considerations, with all available resources deployed to expedite the restoration process.”
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