eMahlabathini power restored after over two weeks

One community member told Newswatch it was a bleak Christmas and start to the new year, after they were left in the dark for 15 days. 

He says the lights came back on Wednesday afternoon. 

He says they tried getting answers from Eskom's call centre but to no avail. 

"At Eskom's call centre, they told us they have been communicating with Wartburg, so Wartburg is the nearest power station that services our area, but Wartburg haven't been responding to their calls. I asked for Wartburg's office number, but they said it is not allowed. 

"We have to make phone calls through their call centre. We spent our Christmas and New Year's in the dark. At night, the area is too dark. Anything could happen. We're in danger.

"And there are people with young kids, and they need to prepare them food, but they can't because there's no electricity, so it's just a mess."

He says residents found three suspects allegedly vandalising an electricity pole and managed to take one of them to the police station.

The other two ran away. 

Meanwhile, ward 6 councillor Sipho Dladla says Eskom technicians repaired the electricity pole in the afternoon yesterday. 

He's explained why the utility cut power to the area. 

"What really happened is that people around transformer never pay so Eskom decided not to restore the transformer at that time."