KARIEGA – Residents in parts of Kariega were left without electricity on Friday morning, 24 July, after faults at two municipal substations caused widespread power outages, while the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality also warned that the outages could affect water pumping to some reservoirs.

According to the municipality’s Electricity and Energy Directorate, technical teams identified that the 11kV circuit breaker at the Rosedale/Tarpon Substation had tripped, leaving sections of Rosedale and surrounding areas without electricity.

A separate fault was also reported at the Tollgate Substation, where 11kV circuit breakers at the Tollgate 1/Disposal Works and Market Square/Stow Road substations tripped, affecting Uitenhage Central and nearby areas.

At the time of publication, the municipality had not provided an estimated time for the restoration of electricity supply, with technical teams continuing to investigate and repair the faults.

The municipality also issued an update on the metro’s water supply, stating that the system had largely recovered following recent repairs and that the majority of residents were receiving water.

However, officials warned that the power outage in Kariega could affect pumping to some reservoirs supplying the area.

In Colchester, municipal teams were continuing to search for a leak believed to be beneath floodwaters, which was still affecting the community’s water supply.

Meanwhile, theft and vandalism of a valve on the Chelsea–Motherwell pipeline has disrupted water supply to the Bethelsdorp area. Repair teams were on site on Friday, with water already being pumped into the Bethelsdorp Reservoir to assist the recovery of the system.

The municipality said it would continue monitoring the affected areas and provide further updates as work progresses.

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