- Following the vandalism of electricity infrastructure and cable theft affecting Mabandlasubstation, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality teams are working around the clock to replace the stolen cables in preparation to restore power.
NMBM Electricity and Energy Mayoral Committee member, Cllr Lance Grootboom said officials are hard at work repairing numerous challenges to electricity supply across the Metro. The power outage cases include the vandalism reports that affected the Mabandlasubstation while some are as a result of the recent heavy rains.
“We are concerned that in the last seven days NMB has seen 23 major electricity substation outages across all communities, with the latest vandalism affecting seven wards in the KwaNobuhlecluster. Work to restore electricity to the affected communities continues and we are expecting power to be restored in KwaNobuhle on Tuesday, 23 May 2023.”
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“On Sunday afternoon, 21 May 2023, the Executive Mayor, City Manager and I had a meeting with the senior leadership of the Electricity and Energy Directorate to discuss the challenges and chart immediate action steps to ensure a stable electricity supply for all residents and businesses. I have requested a detailed report on all recent outages and specifically requested that if instances of a lack of maintenance or sabotage is discovered that strict accountability and action is taken against any persons implicated. If we want to Get NMB Working Again, stable electricity supply is imperative,” MMC Grootboom said.
In response to the Mabandlasubstation case, NMBM has opened a case with the South African Police Service as foul play is suspected.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
