Durban — The uMngeni Local Municipality is expected to restore electricity to affected households as the protests in Mpophomeni ceased.
It is alleged that a transformer blew last week due to overloading as a result of illegal connections. The municipality then sent officials to inspect the electricity metres that would then allow the municipality to be able to repair the transformer.
On Wednesday morning, the mayor Chris Pappas said they appreciated the restoration of peace and order.
“Our meter audit teams and electricians are gathering,” Pappas said.
He said the teams and electricians should be ready to start work by 12pm on Wednesday.
“The blown transformer will be removed at the same time as the audit is being conducted,” Pappas said.
“We aim to speedily return power to households who have been caught up in the disruptions.”
“Additional security will be provided in order to ensure the safety of our teams.”
Earlier, Pappas said all roads were open as of 6.10am. The R617 was full of debris.
There was also police presence at R617/Mandela Dr.
There were also reports that protesters set two trucks alight on Tuesday night; however, Pappas said there were conflicting reports on the trucks.
He said one version was that the fire was caused by break overheating and the other was that a group burnt the truck and fled.
He also said they would confirm on Wednesday.
During the night, Pappas said threats had been made against other electricity infrastructure in the Mpophomeni area in an attempt to give them the false impression that uMngeni Municipality was targeting Mpophomeni.
He said there were also threats against other community facilities.
On Tuesday, Pappas had advised all businesses in Howick and Merrivale to consider closing for the rest of the day to avoid any potential injury or loss.
When delivering his budget speech in May, Pappas said R31 million would be spent on maintaining and upgrading electricity infrastructure with a further R15m being spent on phase 1 of the new Mpophomeni substation which would assist to stabilise that grid.
Daily News