'It’s not Eskom' - Confusion reigns as eThekwini is plunged into darkness

Tens of thousands of eThekweni homes were plunged into darkness during a power outage spanning from Morningside to King Shaka International Airport on Tuesday.

Areas affected included Morningside, Overport, Newlands, Parlock, Sherwood, Westville, Cornubia, Phoenix, Verulam and Umhlanga.

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Metro police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Parboo Sewpersad said the exact cause was not not clear but said it was not Eskom's fault. This was however contradicted by a statement from the city that was made in the evening.

Sewpersad also denied rumours that it was sabotage linked to a protest by supporters of suspended eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede supporters, who protested outside the ANC offices in Durban on Tuesday afternoon.

He said roads were congested all over the city as traffic lights were out of order.

Power was restored to most parts after about 45 minutes.

It is understood that the outage could be linked to a transformer explosion in the region.

eThekwini spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said: "The city would like to sincerely apologise to all residents affected by power outages in its northern western parts.

"This is due to a major fault on the side of Eskom. Technicians are working tirelessly to resolve the problem and restore supply to all areas affected."

He said power was restored to most areas.

"We urge communities to exercise patience and caution. In the event any customers are still off it's now a smaller local fault and they must log the fault as normal."

* This article has been amended to add updated comment from the eThekwini spokesperson.