Work continues to fix storm-related electricity outages

14 July 2020

City teams continue to work nonstop to attend to the high volume of electricity service requests triggered by the severe storm. The large area outages caused by infrastructure damage also takes longer to fix.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience suffered. We are aware of some customers having been without power for long periods of time already. We have increased service teams where possible and have attended to more than 5 000 service requests thus far and through last night. It is all hands on deck to try and restore power. Load-shedding is however also negatively impacting on our work.

Prolonged outages are being experienced and affecting large areas due to the severity of the storm-related electricity infrastructure damage across large parts of the metro.

Electrical infrastructure in areas across the metro has been affected by the strong winds and rain. The inclement weather caused some flooding and the uprooting of trees, where branches have been caught in power lines. Infrastructure damage is impacting on the restoration time. Eskom’s load-shedding is also contributing to the challenge of restoring power and/or the high number of service requests due to nuisance tripping among others. Due to the high call volumes which the Electricity Call Centre is currently experiencing, customers are encouraged to instead make use of SMS or email to report electricity outages.

Please note however there are a large number of backlogs and customers may not get a timeous response. Customers are assured it is likely that the City is aware of an outage and that teams are attending to it as fast as humanly possible.

Customers are encouraged to also log their own service requests via e-Services.

Some larger area outages include Grassy Park, Lotus River, Retreat, Bergvliet, Rylands, Brooklyn, Southfield, Wynberg, Diep River, Claremont, Heathfield, Meadowridge, Steenberg, Schaapkraal, Fish Hoek, Noordhoek, Nyanga, Constantia, Gugulethu, Philippi, Bishopscourt, Kenilworth, Eikendal, Rondebosch and Wetton areas, among others. This takes longer to fix. Unfortunately delays are to be expected due to the sheer volume of faults caused by the damaged power infrastructure and the large area outages. We are unable to say how long it will take to restore individual faults but we are working as hard as we can.

Trees affecting power lines, infrastructure

Property owners are encouraged to maintain their trees and vegetation. Stormy weather usually contributes to an increase in power outages especially where tree branches grow over and into overhead power lines.
The City’s Electricity Generation and Distribution Department has made every effort to minimise electricity outages caused by trees growing alongside overhead power lines by carrying out various tree clearing efforts in preparation for winter storms. Vegetation growing too close to overhead power lines is especially dangerous.
Property owners or those renting a property are urged to do this maintenance work while taking safety precautions and to ensure the required clearance of at least 3,8 metres between vegetation and power lines. Residents are also reminded that branches that encroach on streetlights diminish their efficacy. Clearing of overhead lines can be dangerous and property owners can approach the City for advice if they have already let trees grow too close to power lines.
Should residents be concerned that there is a risk of trees on City property encroaching on City overhead power lines, they are encouraged to report these cases to the City’s Fault Reporting Centre on 0860 103 089 or FaultReporting.Centre@capetown.gov.za.

Nuisance tripping
Residents are encouraged to be mindful that they may also be experiencing outages due to Eskom's load-shedding. When power is restored after load-shedding, nuisance tripping sometimes occurs. This is when the power is restored to an area and fails to come back on in some parts. The power outage often goes unreported because residents assume that it is due to load-shedding. In the event of load-shedding, residents are encouraged to reduce the risk and occurrence of nuisance tripping by switching off appliances, including geysers, air conditioners and pool pumps prior to load-shedding and leaving one light on to indicate the return of the supply.

We are doing our absolute best and thank our customers for their patience and understanding. Due to the high call volumes which the Electricity Call Centre is currently experiencing, customers are encouraged to instead make use of SMS or email to report electricity outages.

Contact us:
SMS: 31220 (electricity faults)
Email: power@capetown.gov.za
e-Services: https://www.capetown.gov.za/City-Connect/Report/Municipal-services-and-maintenance/Submit-a-service-request/Submit%20a%20service%20request%20online

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office