In June, the City’s teams attended to a record-breaking number of electricity service requests specifically triggered by the damage caused by severe weather, vandalism related faults, load-shedding and secondary tripping at the time. During this period, teams from various depots were dispatched to more than 10 areas at a time, including Valhalla Park, Hout Bay, Atlantis, Gugulethu and Langa among other areas.

‘The record-breaking service requests that our teams attended to shows that we have been working around the clock to ensure that we assist residents as quickly as possible, despite the very challenging circumstances they face on a daily basis. The faults were due to damage to poles, damage from secondary tripping, and damage due to infrastructure vandalism under the cover of load-shedding darkness. 

‘The City has dedicated teams responsible for a number of electricity services in the metro. These include streetlight maintenance and repair teams as well as first line responders, among others. 

The City’s streetlight teams, in our Areas East, North and South attended to approximately 9 785 streetlight service requests in June alone. When residents report faults to the City, we ask that only one reporting channel is used, so that delays in attending to duplicate service requests are avoided as far as possible. We once again thank residents for their patience and for working with us.

‘The taxi unrest this week has also had an impact on our service delivery to communities. However, City teams are on the ground, dedicated to delivering services and making up for lost time. We are attending to service requests with caution and with the assistance of City Law Enforcement. 

‘We are urgently working through the backlogs caused by the recent unrest. In some areas where teams are only able to operate with a security escort, it could also lead to delays in service requests being attended to. We apologise for any inconvenience,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Energy Councillor Beverley van Reenen.

Help reduce secondary tripping

Residents can reduce the risk of nuisance tripping by switching off major and non-essential appliances prior to load-shedding. Nuisance tripping typically happens when the electricity does not come back on or switches off shortly after supply has been returned to an area.

For service requests (please only log on one channel and do not log the same request multiple times):

Call Centre: 0860 103 089

SMS: 31220 (Please note the free SMS service does not apply)

Email: power@capetown.gov.za

e-Services: www.capetown.gov.za/servicerequests