Macassar again hit by extended power outages

THE Macassar community has started a petition after being forced to endure extended periods of darkness, again.

The community said recently, after each load shedding cycle of four hours, they experienced additional power outages for another two or more hours.

The community had borne the brunt of Eskom power outages prior to the recent load shedding where earlier this month, parts of the area were plunged into darkness for three days when a contractor struck a cable supplying the Macassar area with power.

Ward councillor Peter Helfrich said last week one area was without electricity for more than 24 hours, another for 12 hours, and on Monday the area was without electricity for seven hours, which was followed by another four hours of load shedding later that day.

Helfrich said the ward was experiencing, first-hand, Eskom's collapse which he said was unacceptable.

Community leader Christiaan Steward said numerous emails and requests for meetings with the Eskom management remained unanswered.

“It's frustrating how Eskom is treating us, and how the failure and outages are taking place in ward 109. These things cannot continue, especially because it’s only Macassar and the neighbouring area are spared.

“We need Eskom to come out for a public meeting so that we can deal with the issues.”

Eskom said it had seen a surge in theft and vandalism of equipment in recent months in the area, that led to numerous unplanned power cuts. It said an appeal was made to community leaders to address the issues, and a community engagement was expected to take place early next month.