3-Day Power Outage Sparks Fury in Glenwood and Morningside as Residents Question eThekwini Infrastructure

Residents of Glenwood and Morningside have expressed frustration after enduring a power outage that has lasted more than three days. The blackout began late on Friday and is believed to have been triggered by a severe storm that lashed parts of Durban at the time.

At the time of publishing, many residents in the affected areas were still without electricity. Technical teams have been conducting continuous repair work across multiple locations, including Burman Bush, Livingston, Kensington, Trematon Drive, Londonderry Road and Connaught Bridge.

Repair efforts have focused on restoring major cables that feed into substations and mini-substations, with teams locked in a race against time to restore power to the area.

The prolonged blackout has had significant consequences for residents. Households have reported food spoilage, while elderly individuals and families with young children have faced additional hardships. Those observing Ramadan have also been adversely affected by the outage.

Adding to residents’ frustration has been the lack of structured communication regarding power restoration, leading many to question the integrity and resilience of the local infrastructure.

Neetu Chetty, a resident of Glenwood, described the challenges faced by her and her community.

“We promptly reported the outage and received fault reference numbers, but were later informed that technicians were investigating a medium-voltage underground cable fault, and that a secondary fault was identified during repairs, which has extended the duration of the outage,” she said.

“While we understand that underground cable faults require detailed investigation, the time taken to isolate the fault has contributed to growing uncertainty within our community.”

Chetty acknowledged that severe weather could trigger faults but said the lengthy restoration time raised questions about the eThekwini Municipality’s ability to maintain infrastructure effectively in both the short and long term.

Keyuren Maharaj, chairperson of the Glenwood Bulwer Ratepayers and Residents Association, highlighted a notable increase in electricity outages across Glenwood and Ward 33 over the past week, with multiple incidents reported daily via CityMenderSA — a user-driven service delivery reporting platform that allows residents to map and track infrastructure issues.

“Historically, outages in our area have averaged six to eight hours, but lately we’ve been seeing disruptions lasting between 12 and 16 hours,” he said.

Maharaj cited an example of a resident being without power for 64 hours, only for it to be restored for a mere 10 hours before another outage occurred.

“That pattern is simply unacceptable. These extended outages impose stress on households, damage appliances, spoil food, hamper home businesses, disrupt security systems and interfere with the ability of residents to work or study from home,” he said.

Through CityMenderSA, residents have been able to systematically track service delivery issues, including electricity faults and other municipal challenges. Maharaj added that, beyond the outages themselves, a recurring frustration was the lack of effective communication.

“If there were clearer and more consistent updates between departments and the public, much of the anxiety and frustration would be alleviated. Transparency and communication are not luxuries; they are essential components of service delivery,” he said.

Another Glenwood resident, Londiwe Zondi, said it was unfair for the municipality to leave ratepayers without electricity for such an extended period. She noted that power briefly returned on Sunday evening before going out again.

“We are left frustrated with no answers. Only when we complained did we get some information. Our councillor did his best to communicate,” Zondi added.

The eThekwini Municipality did not respond at the time of publishing.

DAILY NEWS