Residents across the eThekwini Municipality, especially in Durban, are expressing growing frustration over ongoing and extended power outages, with the situation worsening due to the recent heavy rains. By Tuesday alone, the municipality’s electricity department had logged over 10,300 power disruption reports, further stretching the already overburdened service.
While the outages were linked to cable faults caused by the weekend rainfall, some neighborhoods, like Reservoir Hills and Clare Estate, experienced power cuts that lasted for more than 24 hours. On Tuesday, power was restored to many affected areas, but the department continues to deal with a significant backlog.
Gugu Sisilana, eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson, explained that many of the outage reports were duplicates. “We are working to identify and resolve the duplicates, so the backlog is not a true reflection of faults,” Sisilana stated. She clarified that many large areas impacted by medium-voltage faults had already been restored.
However, frustrated residents in areas like Reservoir Hills, which experienced outages lasting up to 40 hours, are calling for immediate action. Alicia Kissoon, the local councillor for Ward 23, shared with residents that the repair teams were prioritizing long-standing issues and outages affecting larger areas. Still, with limited resources and multiple faults, progress has been slow.
One frustrated resident, Ash from Reservoir Hills, shared his concerns, saying, “We’ve gone over 48 hours without electricity. When we call eThekwini, the response is always the same—there’s no one assigned to the reference, and it’s affecting many homes.” He highlighted the financial losses from spoiled food and raised safety concerns, particularly regarding the health of elderly residents.
In Bonela, residents have relied on the Community Policing Forum to provide updates on ongoing cable repairs. Zohra Khan, a resident, said that all her food had to be thrown away after the prolonged outage, including items bought specifically for the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In Clare Estate, resident Sumen Dees echoed the same sentiment, saying that claiming compensation for lost food is nearly impossible. “We face the losses every time, and as usual, we ratepayers are left to bear the burden,” Dees said, referring to the second consecutive week of extended outages.
The power disruptions have also impacted areas like Pinetown, with issues affecting the main cable feed from the Blaire Athol Substation. Councillor Melanie Brauteseth confirmed the outages in Westville North and Cowies Hill, with several electricity teams dispatched to accelerate repairs. In Isipingo, councillor Shad Nowbuth reported two underground medium-voltage cable faults, further complicated by the challenging weather conditions.
Despite the widespread challenges, the municipality has apologized for the inconvenience and assured residents that efforts are underway to restore power as soon as possible. However, with persistent weather issues and a stretched workforce, many are left wondering how much longer it will take for full service to be restored.
