BHISHO- Heavy rain and strong winds have battered large parts of the Eastern Cape leaving widespread electricity outages across several district municipalities as Eskom teams battle difficult conditions to restore power.
The power utility said on Monday that severe weather had damaged electricity infrastructure in the Alfred Nzo, Amathole, Chris Hani, OR Tambo and Sarah Baartman district municipalities as well as Buffalo City Metro.
Eskom technicians have been deployed to affected areas but restoration efforts are being hampered by poor weather and limited access to some sites.
“Assessments from various accessible sites have discovered broken poles and wires on medium and low-voltage lines,” Eskom said in a statement.
The utility warned that further damage was likely to be uncovered once weather conditions improved and more areas became accessible.
Communities affected in Alfred Nzo include parts of the Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Matatiele and Umzimvubu local municipalities as well as villages around Ntabankulu.
In the Amathole district, outages were reported in Cintsa East, Haga-Haga, Debe Marhele, Ncalukeni, Elliotdale, Gatyana, Centane, Gcuwa and villages around Idutywa.
Chris Hani district areas affected include Elliot, Ugie, Engcobo, Cala and villages around Whittlesea.
Whilst in OR Tambo district, communities in Qunu, Mqanduli, Coffee Bay, Qumbu, Lusikisiki and Flagstaff villages were among those left without electricity.
The Sarah Baartman district also experienced outages in Humansdorp, Joubertina, Mosterhoek, Rebelsrus and Smithtown.
Buffalo City Metro recorded widespread disruptions in areas including Ethembeni, Quzini, Kwelerha-Tyutyu, Mdingi, Masingatha, Tolofiyeni, Zeleni, Maxhalanga, Nothenga, Trust 2, Khulile, Mxumbu, Pexdale, Phewuleni, Dikidikana and Ngqolowa.
Eskom emphasised additional resources had been mobilised to speed up restoration work.The utility urged residents to treat all electrical installations as live until power supply had been fully restored.
“Restoration will take longer as weather conditions continue to hinder site accessibility,” Eskom said.
Customers can report faults through Eskom’s Alfred Chatbot, WhatsApp service, MyEskom app, USSD platform, contact centre or by email to [EasternCape@eskom.co.za](mailto:EasternCape@eskom.co.za).
Photograph: Internet/Supplied
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