Following a five-day power outage in Reservoir Hills, residents have expressed concerns about food spoilage and safety.

Clare Estate and a portion of Atholl Heights (Westville North) were also impacted by the outage.

The eThekwini Municipality reported occasional service outages on Friday due to a reported cable fault.

The municipality stated that multiple cable faults occurred on different days. Subsequently, on Saturday, the Riddick Road Distribution Substation experienced an internal explosion, which resulted in additional outages in the Reservoir Hills and Clare Estate area. The substation has since been repaired and power supply to homes was restored on Tuesday.

"Following these incidents, there were further outages caused by unrelated cable faults. Our dedicated teams are currently addressing these issues. While some areas have already had their power restored, we anticipate a gradual return to full service throughout the day, as the affected areas are served by different power sources," the municipality stated.

Reservoir Hills Ratepayers Association (RHRA) spokesperson Yogesh Naidoo demanded accountability from the municipality for the prolonged outages which crippled over 50 streets.

Despite repeated alerts and pleas for urgent intervention, residents remained without power for more than three days, with the bulk of supply only being restored late on Monday night.

Naidoo said the explanation from the municipality fails to provide clarity, omits critical timelines, and does not address the root cause of the infrastructure collapse or the sluggish response time by its Electricity Department.

Several streets remain without electricity four days later, Naidoo added.

The RHRA said that the prolonged outage has caused enormous hardship to residents and businesses, including:

• spoiled food and groceries, with no recourse or support from the municipality.

• increased household costs due to wastage, reliance on gas, generators, and battery-operated devices.

• severe disruption to livelihoods, particularly for those working from home, students preparing for exams, and small businesses.

• heightened security risks due to non-functioning lights, alarms, and electric fences.

Naidoo said this was not an isolated event.

"Communities across Wards 23, 25, and 92 have been subjected to years of neglect, decaying infrastructure, minimal maintenance, and empty apologies. These failures reflect systemic mismanagement and an unacceptable erosion of basic service delivery," Naidoo said.

The RHRA demands that the municipality

Release a full technical report outlining all faults, response actions, and substations affected.
Publish a list of affected streets and a clear restoration timeline for remaining outages.
Implement an emergency maintenance and upgrade plan for the electricity infrastructure in Reservoir Hills, Westville North, and Clare Estate.
Provide compensation or relief measures for residents who suffered financial losses due to food spoilage and alternative energy costs.
Establish a permanent local task team to monitor and respond to outages timeously and transparently.

"Should these demands be ignored, RHRA NPC will escalate this matter to the National Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), the Public Protector, the South African Human Rights Commission, and other regulatory bodies.

"The continued degradation of services and the burden placed on our communities is a violation of our constitutional rights to dignity, safety, and basic services. We will not accept silence, excuses, or vague assurances. We demand immediate action, full accountability, and a commitment to long-term solutions," Naidoo said.

eThekwini Ward 23 Councillor Alicia Kissoon said the Durban Heights Reservoir remained operational but the real and lasting damage played out across homes, schools, and small businesses.

Kissoon said businesses, especially in under-resourced areas, are being hammered, adding that they resorted to using costly generators to stay afloat, with many already on life support from economic strain.

"Our communities are already hanging by a thread and the municipality is holding the scissors. Both residents and I are left with more questions than answers. A five-day outage, with no detailed explanation or restoration schedule, is simply indefensible.

"As a councillor, I walk those streets, I speak to those shop owners. They’re not just statistics on a report, they are parents, providers, and people who refuse to give up. But how do you keep hope alive when you’re paying twice to stay open?" Kissoon said.

Kissoon said the return of schools on Tuesday was a concern.

"Teaching continues, but in environments that are neither safe nor conducive. Imagine trying to teach children in the daylight while classrooms are in darkness. These learners deserve better than this perpetual crisis management. However, the elephant in the room remains the budget.

"eThekwini is setting a budget that works on paper but fails in practice. We need a budget that works for the people and not against them. We are once again being asked to support tariff increases in exchange for improved service delivery," Kissoon said.

A concerned Reservoir Hills resident, who did not want to be named, said they had to make a plan with alternative power supplies some of which were also depleted by Tuesday.

She said residents with generators assisted their neighbours by charging cellphones and keeping some fridges on, adding that the main concern was the gate motors, which most of the residents had.

"Most of the residents had to leave the gates open. We had to form street patrol teams to keep residents safe. We tried to find the fault so we could assist in expediting the repair but when we did, we were told we could not access the property. In some instances, the lights from cars had to be left on to reassure senior citizens that patrol teams were on watch," she said.

Ward 92 Proportional Representative (PR) Councillor Smoh Xulu said that approximately 30 substations and multiple pole transformers had been affected by cable faults.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za