Generators are being dispatched to several towns to keep essential services running after weekend storms caused power lines to collapse in the Central Karoo.
Heavy rain and gale-force winds caused seven power pylons to collapse on Saturday, causing what is expected to be a prolonged outage for residents.
“Eskom informed us the repair project is complex, and though they are working as fast as possible, repairs will most likely take several days,” local government, environmental affairs and development planning MEC in the Western Cape Anton Bredell said on Tuesday.
Western Cape towns left in the dark include Roggeveld, Laingsburg, Ladismith, Leeugamka, Swartberg, Merweville, Matjiesfontein and Prince Albert. Fraserburg and Sutherland in the Northern Cape are also affected.
“We need to ensure our hospitals and schools have water and sufficient diesel to run generators. We are also sending generators to institutions that do not have generators,” said Bredell.
The provincial disaster management centre is co-ordinating efforts to ensure essential services such as water distribution, wastewater systems, schools and hospitals keep functioning.
TimesLIVE
Central Karoo electricity outage expected to last several days
Image: 123RF/dpreezg
Generators are being dispatched to several towns to keep essential services running after weekend storms caused power lines to collapse in the Central Karoo.
Heavy rain and gale-force winds caused seven power pylons to collapse on Saturday, causing what is expected to be a prolonged outage for residents.
“Eskom informed us the repair project is complex, and though they are working as fast as possible, repairs will most likely take several days,” local government, environmental affairs and development planning MEC in the Western Cape Anton Bredell said on Tuesday.
Western Cape towns left in the dark include Roggeveld, Laingsburg, Ladismith, Leeugamka, Swartberg, Merweville, Matjiesfontein and Prince Albert. Fraserburg and Sutherland in the Northern Cape are also affected.
“We need to ensure our hospitals and schools have water and sufficient diesel to run generators. We are also sending generators to institutions that do not have generators,” said Bredell.
The provincial disaster management centre is co-ordinating efforts to ensure essential services such as water distribution, wastewater systems, schools and hospitals keep functioning.
TimesLIVE
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