By Anita Dangazele
People living in the western suburbs of Gqeberha have been without electricity since Friday after strong winds knocked down four transmission towers, causing major power outages.
Thirteen suburbs, including Summerstrand, Forest Hill, Humewood, and Walmer, have been affected.
The power failure has made life difficult, with food going bad and daily routines interrupted.
Yolanda Heleni from South End said: “It was a tough month. When my partner got paid on Friday, I went grocery shopping. I didn’t know the power would go out that afternoon. Now the meat is already starting to smell.”
Zingisa Zamisa from Walmer Township decided to keep her six-year-old daughter home from school.
“The idea of waking her up at 6am to bathe her in cold water is scary. I decided she won’t go to school this week,” Zamisa said.
At first, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) said it would take two weeks to fix the problem, but after talking with Eskom, they now say it will take seven days.
NMBM spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said they are working with Eskom to fix the problem quickly.
“We’ve approved a plan for Eskom to work with NMBM to build additional steel poles and connect them to the Chelsea power line,” Soyaya said.
He added that teams are already on-site, putting up temporary lines to restore power as quickly as possible.
Pictured above: Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and Eskom teams working to repair fallen transmission towers destroyed by gale-force winds.
Source: NMBM/Facebook
