Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis thanked city staff who were “on the scene without delay” to identify the problem and fix it after parts of Cape Town were left in the dark as a result of a power outage in Area 7.
“I’m pleased that power has been restored in Woodstock, Vredehoek, Gardens, Tamboerskloof, District Six, around Constitution Street, parts of the eastern CBD and down to Chiappini Street and parts of the Foreshore,” said Hill-Lewis, who explained that power has been restored to all areas.
“I also want to thank our residents for their patience and understanding. I know it’s been difficult for some of our residents… but I think the city’s rapid response to the problem has been fantastic,” Hill-Lewis adds.
Update: Power restored to all areas! Great relief.
I am very grateful to the @CityofCT engineering and technical teams who have worked nearly 24 hours under extreme pressure to get this done. And ‘thank you’ to residents for your patience.
— Geordin Hill-Lewis (@geordinhl) December 21, 2021
According to the Cape Town mayor, the cause of the outage has been identified as major cable damage to City and Eskom feeders in conjunction with the loss of a conductor on the Eskom overhead line. The cable damage resulted in major tripping of all cables feeding Area 7.
This is the cable tunnel feeding the CBD which has been severely damaged due to the fire. Replacement of the cables will take place.
For the latest statement and ongoing efforts, see: https://t.co/cWyD6W8BSg#CTNews pic.twitter.com/dgxlb9dtku
— City of Cape Town (@CityofCT) December 21, 2021
Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen shared these sentiments by saying: “‘The City thanks Eskom and City teams… We also thank our customers for their understanding and patience”.
Residents are encouraged to reduce the risk and occurrence of nuisance tripping by switching off appliances, including geysers, air conditioners and pool pumps and leaving one light on to indicate the return of the supply.
The City also encouraged residents to wait at least 30 minutes before logging a service request. Sometimes, the issue is already being resolved.
“We remind residents that, should they experience any emergency as a result of a prolonged outage, they should contact the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre on 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from landline,” the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith adds.
Residents may report any traffic-related matters such as traffic lights being out to the 24-hour Transport Information Centre on 0800 65 64 63 and are advised to please report faults via the City’s digital platforms and SMS lines to reduce pressure on the 24-hour phone channels.
- Motor Vehicle Registration, Traffic and Drivers Licencing and testing Contact Centre services are not available;
- Accounts and General, limited services are available;
- Water Faults, limited services are available;
- Accounts Payable Queue is out of service.
Residents are advised to use the following channels instead:
- Service requests and general enquiries:
Email: [email protected]
- Electricity service faults
SMS 31220
Email: [email protected]
- Water and sewer faults:
SMS 31373
Email: [email protected]
- Motor vehicle registration:
Email: [email protected]
- Driver’s licence enquiries:
Email: [email protected]
Residents can also log service requests online via www.capetown.gov.za by clicking on ‘City Connect’ and choosing the applicable option, for example to report a fault.
Picture: City of Cape Town