By Staff Reporter
BURGERSDORP – Residents of Burgersdorp and surrounding villages may be forced to celebrate Christmas without electricity following an unplanned power supply interruption caused by repeated acts of vandalism.
Over the past weekend, Eskom teams recorded significant damage on the Lenyenye Mashiloane 11kV line, affecting the water plant, Masumo Village, and Masumo Clinic.
While technicians were still assessing and repairing the damage, another vandalism incident occurred on the Risenga Juliesburg 22kV feeder, further delaying restoration efforts.
The second incident has impacted areas including Zanghoma, Mhangweni, Burgersdorp, Bonn, Gavaza, Nyanyukani, Lefara, some portions of Rita, Mulati, Mafarana, and Nsolani.
Eskom technicians are currently on site assessing the full extent of the additional damage. However, repeated vandalism incidents continue to cause significant delays in restoring electricity supply.
The outage remains unresolved, and the Estimated Time of Restoration has not yet been determined.
Eskom has urged community members to help safeguard critical electricity infrastructure, stressing that power networks are shared resources that support households, businesses, and essential services.
The utility warned that vandalism increases costs and prolongs outages, affecting everyone.
Customers in the affected areas have been advised to remain calm and to refrain from logging faults while repairs are underway. Eskom has apologised for the inconvenience caused and assured residents that the matter is receiving urgent attention.
Residents are encouraged to report any illegal activities to local law enforcement or the Eskom Crime Line on 0800 11 27 22.
Meanwhile, Ward 22 Councillor Lepulana has appealed to community members from all affected villages to volunteer in assisting Eskom with bush clearing and pit digging to speed up the restoration process.
Volunteers are requested to meet at the Lefara–Zanghoma road, next to the Lefara graveside, tomorrow morning at 7am.
