DA in city power play

OUTRAGE: OVER 5 000 RESIDENTS SIGN PARTY'S PETITION OVER OUTAGES

- Marizka Coetzer

More than 5000 fed up residents have signed the DA in Tshwane petition over prolonged power outages in Pretoria over the festive season and into the new year.

The DA announced its plan to lay a formal complaint with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) in terms of Section 32 of the Energy Regulation Act.

Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink said Tshwane was in breach of its Nersa licence conditions to provide a reliable supply of electricity.

Last week, the DA launched a citywide petition over the prolonged power outages, collapsing infrastructure and poor response times, which are crippling households, threatening jobs and pushing the city's economy over the edge. The DA already has 5466 signatures of support.

"The complaint will be backed by the documented experiences of our councillors, as well as the residents," he added.

Brink said the recurring power outage in East Lynne over the new year period was the longest in recent memory.

He said the power went off and on, but was mostly off from 26 December.

Brink added some of the outages started in November.