Thread by @CityPowerJhb

#Loadshedding #OutageUpdate
Stage 4 is putting too much strain on our resources, with some substations unable to return during restorations, leaving customers without power for a longer period...<thread
@CityofJoburgZA

The recent ramped up bout of loadshedding comes at the time when City Power was already overstretched by increase in capacity demand due to inclement winter weather, while battling rampant cable theft and illegal connections.

Over the weekend it was worse with outage calls hovering way above 3000. By 17h00 this afternoon we were dealing with just over 4770 outage calls, with over 2000 of them over 24hrs.

Most of the calls are from Hursthill area at over 1700, followed by Lenasia area (+850), followed by Randburg (+750).

We are still struggling in areas such as Emmerantia, Greenside, Linden, Roosevelt, Witpoortjie, Florida, Parkhurst, Cresta, Honeydew, Fleurhof, Tshepisong, Booysens Reserve, Craighall, Ennerdale, Blairgowrie, Olivenhout/Northriding, Bordeaux, among others.

Loadshedding has undesirable effects on the infrastructure which, by its nature was never meant to be switched on and off at short intervals, and comes with it added financial pressures that we did not budget for.

Incidents of vandalism and cable theft increase during loadshedding, exarcebating the already dire situation. Just to give you an idea, since Friday until this morning we had 26 cable theft incidents with 1 arrest.

Apart from the lost revenue during loadshedding we are also forced to pull technicians and operators from leave, and many are already fatigued. We are also forced to divide our resources between attending to outage calls and responding to 2-hourly loadshedding switch on and offs.

In-rush currents, multiple cable faults, vandalism, overloading due to the cold weather are the reasons for the trippings in most areas, especially after loadshedding restorations.

Cables that have been repaired after cable theft are also susceptible to faults during loadshedding because they have been weakened over time.

We are aware of the inconvenience this is causing to the customers, and the pressure it puts the Councillors and City of Joburg regional offices, and our depots, and we appeal for patience and cooperation as the technicians work on repairs backlogs.

We are beefing up resources in our SDCs, with more operators added to ensure we respond in time with limited delays during restorations. We do not, for safety reasons, do planned Maintenance during Loadshedding. So the longer it drags the more problems we will have in future.

Our mostly aging infrastructure also cannot be ignored, and it's wear & tear increases everytime they are switched on and off at short intervals.

We urge customers to also assist reduce inrush current by switching off heavy appliances during loadshedding. These include geysers, pool pumps, heaters, stoves. These can be switched back on, gradually, few minutes after restorations.

We apologise for the inconvenience caused to the customers, especially since over the weekend. We will improve communication through the councillors to ensure customers are best prepared to plan their lives during Loadshedding.