More than 4 000 power request calls received, 3 000 in Area South alone
12 July 2024
The City’s Electricity teams received more than 4 000 power-related calls, of which 3 000 have been from the Area South. The unprecedented volumes are being attended to by electricity teams and progress is being made day and night. The City apologises for the inconvenience caused and thanks residents for their cooperation while all repair work is being completed.
‘Our teams and contractors remain on high alert and they are attending to as many electricity service requests as humanly as possible. The City’s Call Centre has received approximately 4 000 electricity service requests in the last 24 hours, with approximately 3 000 service requests from the Area South region alone.
‘We are working around the clock and prioritising all emergency electricity faults in all areas, as well as all large and prolonged area outages.
‘In many areas such as Bergvliet and Meadowridge, trees on private property growing into power infrastructure have caused challenges. Property owners are reminded to please ensure vegetation on their property is safely cleared by professionals to avoid power outages due to vegetation affecting the power lines.
‘We urge residents to stay safe and to report their electricity emergencies to the City as soon as possible. The City’s outage list continues to be updated as information is received from the teams and we ask residents to only report to us via one service channel to avoid duplicate service requests as far as possible,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Alderman Xanthea Limberg.
Remember:
Damaged infrastructure from harsh weather conditions typically takes longer to repair and it is extremely unsafe for City Energy teams to use aerial platforms as a result of the strong winds. In many instances, the accurate times of restoration are regrettably not possible to provide to residents.
Property owners are reminded that it may be necessary for City Electricity staff to access residents’ properties in order to access or repair City electricity infrastructure inside of their boundary walls. City staff will identify themselves before asking for access. The identification card must display the City logo, the name and surname of the staff member or mandated contractor, and must contain an embedded photo of the staff member or mandated contractor. If unsure, residents are urged to call the City’s Call Centre on 0860 103 089.
Report electricity infrastructure theft and vandalism
The City urges residents to report incidents of electricity infrastructure theft and vandalism. Due to extended storm-related power outages, incidents of cable theft and electricity infrastructure vandalism have been reported. Theft and vandalism undermine the City’s efforts to restore power to all residents timeously.
Report suspicious behaviour to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre: 021 480 7700
Switch off, so we can switch you back on
City Energy teams fix faults in areas as soon as possible. But often cannot switch customers back on because the power keeps tripping.
This is because of the large volumes of grid-connected inverters, and other power hungry appliances, coming on all at the same time – totally overloading the system, and causing it to trip.
Please unplug all grid-connected inverters especially.
They automatically connect to the municipal supply.
This causes a surge when the power comes back on.
Then it trips again, and is off.
Switch off to switch back on.
Please disconnect connected inverters (and switch off power hungry equipment such as geysers and heaters) to prevent tripping, so that power can be restored.
The impacted areas include:
• Woodstock
• Bergvliet
• Fish Hoek
• Meadowridge
• Lentegeur
• Rocklands
• Constantia
• Plumstead
• Philippi
• Mitchells Plain
• Wynberg
• Pinelands
• Newlands
• Gugulethu
• Ravensmead
• Parkwood
• Lotus River
• Grassy Park
• Steenberg
• Hout Bay
• Constantia
• Kenilworth
• Noordhoek
• Belgravia
• Claremont
Please note: The City’s area outages list is being updated as information is received from the Electricity teams. If an area is not included, it does not mean teams are not aware of the matter.
Electricity services and damage: (please only log on one channel):
WhatsApp: 060 018 1505
Call Centre: 0860 103 089
SMS: 31220 (Free SMS service doesn't apply)
Email: power@capetown.gov.za
eServices: www.capetown.gov.za/servicerequests
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
