Many residents in Soshanguve are in for a daily 11-hour power outage for at least three days owing to the construction of Apollo-Dinaledi 400KV line to be installed by Eskom.
The power utility indicated that electricity supply to Soshanguve had to be suspended from December 4 to December 7, 2023, due to construction work of a powerline in the area, according to City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo.
Given the planned construction work of a powerline, Mashigo said: “Residents are informed of this planned power supply interruption which will be structured in a sequential order of 11 hours on each day, from 6am to 5pm during the specific period.”
He said according to Eskom the necessary activity mainly involved the construction of the Apollo-Dinaledi 400KV line in Soshanguve.
“Eskom has assured the city of its intention to carry out the work within the specified outage period and intends to return the line to services as soon as it is able to complete the construction,” he said.
Mashigo said he hoped that the upgrading project will be of benefit to the communities and that their power supply will be enhanced once the work is completed.
The parts of Soshanguve that will be affected include Block L, L and M Extension, Block DD, BB, LL, JJ, NN, FF, HH, GG, IA, PP, Winterveldt Extension 3 and Tswaing Orange Farm.
Other areas are Block K, K Extension, M, H, H Extension and F West, Block-CC, F East, G, Block-KK, SS1, S, R, T, V, X and W, Block-T, T Extension, V and V Extension, Block- P, SS5, MM, P Extension, Y, Y Extension and X.
Mashigo said: “Due to system requirements and processes involved in carrying out this activity and in the interest of safety, all electrical appliances must always be treated as live (still on) during the supply interruption period.”
On behalf of the City, he apologised for the inconvenience that may arise as a result of this planned construction work.
Meanwhile, The Transformation Alliance Tshwane regional chairperson, Mpho Baloyi, lambasted the City for not caring for Soshanguve residents who suffered constant power outages.
He said that over the weekend while political parties were mobilising voters to register to vote in the 2024 national and provincial elections, some Soshanguve residents were left without electricity.
“The constant power outages in Soshanguve Block GG are a stark reminder of the kind of services they receive from the City of Tshwane Municipality whose only focus is the east, south and parts of the north and west. Every second week, residents of Soshanguve Block GG experience prolonged power outages for days on end,”he said.
He said the organisation would be launching a petition calling for prioritisation of maintenance of the infrastructure in townships.
Pretoria News