News24 | Two-week blackout looms as two power line towers collapse in Nelson Mandela Bay

Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe seen during an oversight visit at the Bethelsdorp–Greenbushes 132kV overhead power line where two towers collapsed.

• Two collapsed 132kV power lines have left parts of Nelson Mandela Bay without electricity.
• The outage has also disrupted the water supply, with some reservoirs running dry or at risk of doing so.
• The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber has blamed ageing infrastructure, vandalism and poor maintenance for the situation, urging urgent intervention and better security. 

The collapse of two major 132kV power line towers, allegedly due to vandalism, poor infrastructure maintenance and strong winds, has led to extended power outages in several areas in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.

Residents and businesses in affected areas could face up to two weeks without electricity, the municipality has warned.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber (NMBBC) said the situation mostly had a significant impact on households and small businesses, and that key industrial and commercial nodes were still able to operate because they had access to power.

NMBBC spokesperson Sibongile Dimbaza said: “It is highly concerning that large parts of Nelson Mandela Bay have been without power, and in some instances water, since yesterday (Thursday) afternoon. It is our understanding that this is due to the combination of ongoing vandalism, lack of infrastructure maintenance and strong winds causing the collapse of two major 132kV power line towers linking Chatty, Bloemendal and Rowallan Park.”

Referring to the water supply, Dimbaza said some reservoirs had already run dry or were at risk of doing so.

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In a municipal newsletter, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality said: “Municipal teams are currently on site, and the estimated restoration period is 14 days.”

According to the communiqué, electricity supply to certain areas can be restored partially through network back-feeding and load-reduction measures, which will be implemented on a rotational basis.

Areas identified for partial restoration include Summerstrand, Walmer, South End, Greenbushes industrial area, Tembani, Sea View and parts of Kabega.

However, Chelsea, Rowallan Park, Arlington and Lorraine will remain without power.

“These areas cannot be back-fed at this stage due to network configuration limitations,” the municipality said.

Dimbaza accused the metro of long-standing underinvestment and inadequate maintenance of its electricity infrastructure, which has resulted in repeated unplanned outages.

“The major power outage in August 2024 should have been a wake-up call to address the ageing electricity infrastructure and the urgent need for routine preventative maintenance,” Dimbaza said.

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Dimbaza also reiterated the chamber’s calls for the municipality to work more closely with Eskom to address underlying issues preventing effective infrastructure maintenance.

“For many years, we have consistently flagged concerns about the vulnerability of Chatty [substation], the metro’s key feeder substation, and its main lines, and the lack of adequate security and CCTV surveillance to protect electricity infrastructure from vandalism,” Dimbaza said.

The chamber urged the municipality to act with urgency to resolve both the power and water outages and to implement robust security and surveillance measures to safeguard substations, pump stations and other critical infrastructure.

It also called on the metro to provide regular public updates at least twice a day.