Johannesburg is currently crunching for time as another thunderstorm could potentially wreak havoc on City Power.
In light of the recent floods which saw damage to a number of areas in Johannesburg, City Power is now working hard to restore power. In regions where electricity has been scarce since the flooding.
The aftermath of the Johannesburg floods
As a result, Disaster Management currently fears that if a thunderstorm hits the city in the days to come, the damages may be irreparable. In order to recover from the previous storm, the city would need a little more time to fix all the damages.
There are currently some concerns about the strength of dam walls. This, in turn, is sparking some concerns over more damage water is able to do to the City of Johannesburg. MMC Michael Sun shared his view on the recent developments.
“I don’t think the infrastructure can hold if we have another big flood. I’m worried about the flats in the area, especially with the zama zama (illegal miner) activity compromising the foundations and the lake overflowing.”
Areas that have been impacted most include, Roodepoort, Hursthill, Northcliff, and Lenasia.
Restoring electricity
As the damage is still being tended to, it is unclear how much the costs are in fixing them. Over the course of a few days, City Power has had to use generators. In order to fix some of the damages that have been done.
Since the country is currently in Stage 5 load-shedding, it makes it difficult for City Power to restore electricity. Efficiently and timeously at that.
Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse has had to ask for an exemption from load-shedding. For the next 72 hours in order to restore electricity to areas that have been without power for a few days.
While restoring infrastructure is of the essence, there are also unavoidable risks. That is, thieves, steal cables during load-shedding times which lasts as long as four hours. Roodeport general manager Sibusiso Xulu shared that the cost of a piece of copper costs at least R150 per kilogram.
Source: News24