Residents without power as strong winds damage eThekwini's electricity infrastructure

On Saturday, strong winds left 15 areas within the eThekwini Municipality without electricity. The cause of the outages was damage to the city's overhead electricity infrastructure. The eThekwini Municipality's Electricity and Energy Directorate reported that it was responding to multiple power outages. Most of the disruptions were to medium-voltage (OHM) circuits, which are especially susceptible to strong winds.

The municipality noted that tree branches, flying debris, and even roof sheets could cause serious damage to the electrical network. 15 neighborhoods were impacted by the blackout, including Baphehli, Folweni, Amaoti, Waterloo, Moriah, Klaarwater, Savannah Park, Inanda, Gunjini, Redcliffe, Malukazi, KwaNdengezi, Clermont, Umlazi C, and Thornwood.

Technical crews tackled the issue throughout the night, and power was subsequently restored to several communities. However, the municipality emphasized that the restoration process was ongoing for the remaining affected areas. Restoring power required time because initial inspections of the damaged circuits were necessary to pinpoint the fault. Once the issue was identified, repairs had to be made to ensure safe reconnection of the power supply.

The city acknowledged the inconvenience caused by the power interruptions and expressed gratitude to residents for their patience. The municipality assured residents that teams were actively working on fault repairs and aimed to restore electricity supply as quickly and safely as possible. The city urged residents to avoid contact with downed or damaged electrical infrastructure and to report any incidents immediately via the municipality's official electricity fault reporting channels.