Pretoria - The City of Tshwane was late yesterday unable to confirm the estimated time for electricity restoration to large parts of the metro.
In one of the updates, it said the N4 eastbound had been reopened for traffic after power lines collapsed onto the freeway on Sunday night.
The 132kv power lines fell on the N4 freeway at around 9pm on Sunday night which resulted in a power outage affecting large parts of Pretoria East and North. The city lost 300 megawatts of power following the incident.
At least seven power line structures collapsed and were badly damaged. Further investigations by the City found that three pylons were vandalised, which caused the power lines to collapse and fall on the road.
Earlier yesterday, Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink said criminals were now targeting the steel that forms part of the construction, causing the towers to collapse, bringing down cables they support and causing a power outage.
He revealed that councillors around the area had informed him that there had been several attempts, over a period of time, to steal the metal from several towers.
Brink further said that he could not make any promises to the residents as to when the power would be restored.
“We cannot make any promises at this stage, except for the fact that we will keep the public informed.
“The city is doing everything in its power, including talking to Eskom, to see what assistance can be given.”
Pretoria News