News Date: 17 October 2008
Some time ago, when load shedding was the order of the day, residents were often left without either water or electricity, and sometimes both. It seems those days are upon us once again.
Amidst the constant battle to restore the water supply to Louis Trichardt, the electricity also decided to take a short break, probably due to an overload from excessive demand.
Residents were dismayed on Monday night when the electricity supply was interrupted. This time it was the fault of a cable at a substation in Stubbs Street, near the town dam. A cable developed a leak, which led to a short circuit, causing the cable to burn off. This plunged the town into darkness for quite a while.
The supply to the centre of town and the CBD was restored first, allowing shops to open their doors on Tuesday, but the part of town above Stubbs Street, along Forestry Road and surrounding areas still had no electricity by 12:00. Municipal workers had their hands full to try and restore the supply amidst great dissatisfaction on the part of residents, who have grown tired of the constant interruptions in both the water and electricity supply. Although the lack of maintenance of the infrastructure and insufficient provision in the municipal budget is used as an excuse by the municipality, residents are not interested in these explanations. All they know is that they are constantly battling to cope with being left without water and/or electricity.
