GEE MY KRAG

AN ELSIES River family has been lights out for two weeks and the huisbaas claims that no one has come out to fix it.

Elton Lottering from 34th Avenue said that he is losing money everyday as they have been without electricity for 12 days, despite numerous complaints to Eskom.

He said that he has been living with the issue for the past 11 years, since Eskom placed a temporary pole in his yard after his neighbour’s house burned and it has affected his electricity supply ever since.

Elton explains: “It is the same problem every year. My electricity is connected to the pole so when there is wind then the wires start swinging, it wears out and my power goes off every year. I have been complaining for 11 years and nothing has been done.

"We are struggling, we can’t take a proper bath or iron our clothes. I need to put my clothes under the mattress and lay on it to get the creases out.

"We need to constantly buy candles and over the weekend I had to get a generator just to keep the fridges on because our meat is expiring so I need to buy petrol.

"I am paying for subscriptions and WiFi which I have not used so I am losing out. I have sent emails and I phone every day then I am told there are hundreds of people before me who also need to get assistance.”

He said that the pole in his yard is unstable and there is a risk that it might fall over.

Elton adds: “I had to put ysters in the wall because the pole is loose. I have a primary school in my road and I pray that it doesn’t fall when the children are going or coming back from school.”

Eskom said that they have made repeated attempts to contact the Elton to establish an Eskom arrival time but was met with no response.

A statement reads: “Eskom can certify that our technical teams addressed the reported issue. However, when Eskom officials came on site, they were unable to get access to the premises, and the customer was not there to allow admission.  As a result, the essential tasks could not be done on time."

Elton said ‘hulle lieg’ as he never received any call from Eskom.

He says: "I work with customers so I need to answer my phone and I live five minutes away from work.

"I have asked my neighbours to keep an eye out for when Eskom arrives, but they always say hier was nog niemand.

"On Monday morning I received a message to say that they are sorry for the delays in restoring the electricity. So hulle lieg.”