Shock as bamboo dangles from Gonubie powerlines
BCM to investigate after staff use sticks instead of ‘spreaders’
BUFFALO City Metro (BCM) has promised to investigate why bamboo is being used to keep powerlines from touching in Gonubie.
Gonubie resident Patrick Forbes, said he had witnessed municipal workers putting up bamboo sticks on powerlines opposite his house on 11th Avenue earlier this week.
When the Daily Dispatch visited the area yesterday, a number of sticks could be seen tied to powerlines with cable ties. Plastic pipes were also used.
Forbes said on Friday last week the area experienced a power outage due to strong winds and he noticed powerlines were touching.
Forbes said he called BCM and workers from the electricity department arrived on Monday.
“The workers came with a truck loaded with bamboo, which they used to separate the lines. This was strange to me so I asked one of the workers why they were using bamboo and he told me they were instructed to do so to cut costs,” Forbes claimed.
The Dispatch has seen cellphone pictures taken by Forbes of a truck loaded with bamboo.
“We pay thousands of rands for rates and services and instead of doing this the proper way, this is the service we get while millions of rands are wasted on unnecessary spending,” Forbes said.
Metro spokesman Keith Ngesi said using bamboo was not a normal standard of operation.
“We do not use bamboo to separate lines.”
He said the electricity department will investigate the matter.
Ngesi said they used a special “spreader” to separate powerlines.
Lunga Maxaka, a qualified electrician, said he had never seen bamboo being used to separate powerlines.
“I mean using bamboo was not harmful but it was not the right way to fix loose powerlines,” he said.
Maxaka said powerlines usually stretched over time due to heavy rains and winds. “The best and right way to fix these lines is to shorten them to make them tighter.”
Shay Moore from SSS Electrical, said in his view there was nothing wrong in using bamboo.
“I have seen plastic pipes being used and just like plastic, bamboo was not a good conductor.”
Chairman of the Buffalo City Ratepayers’ Association, Andre Swart, said the practice was completely unacceptable.
“BCM needs to sort this out. This is unacceptable and needs to be reported to Eskom and the National Energy Regulator,” Swart said.
He said he would follow up on the matter. —