PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Residents in the Crags, Fisanthoek, Harkerville and Airport Road in Plettenberg Bay are growing increasingly frustrated over prolonged power outages and what they describe as poor communication and limited transparency from Eskom following the severe storm that struck the region on Wednesday 6 May.
By yesterday, after 15 days without electricity in some areas, many residents said they were struggling to cope as uncertainty continued over when power would finally be restored.
It is believed some areas may only be reconnected by the coming weekend.
Frustration has mounted on social media platforms, with residents pleading for factual updates to help them plan ahead.
Paul West, posting on the Plett in Stereo Facebook group on Monday 18 May, questioned the absence of clear timelines.
"Are there any timelines for the restoration of power to the Airport Road? Is there any news on when the Crags will be re-energised?" he wrote.
West said residents had also spent large sums of money removing trees after Eskom reportedly requested communities to clear access routes to damaged lines.
"We were asked to cut down trees to allow Eskom access to the damaged lines, a lot of money was paid for this and now… nothing," he said.
Mayor outlines challenges and relief measures
Bitou Mayor Jessica Kamkam addressed residents' concerns after conducting site visits and engaging Eskom teams to better understand the delays.
According to Kamkam, restoration setbacks have been caused by extensive storm damage, ongoing bad weather, crews being redirected to emergency repairs elsewhere, and incidents of theft and vandalism.
She said that approximately 1.5 kilo-metres of conductor cable had been stolen, while falling trees and further theft continued to hamper repair efforts. Some repair teams had been divided to assist with restoring water supply infrastructure in Knysna.
On Monday 11 May, municipal representatives and community leaders met with residents in Kurland Village, the Crags, to discuss the crisis.
Although no definite timelines could be provided, several relief measures were introduced to support affected communities.
These included charging stations, engagement with Vodacom and MTN to improve connectivity, strengthened food relief programmes and assistance for tertiary students who were affected during examinations.
Humanitarian aid has meanwhile been distributed to vulnerable communities in Kurland, Covie and Harkerville through assistance from the Dignity Fund and Native Roots.
Residents call for accountability
Residents such as Nicolene 'Nici' Nieuwoudt say the outages have severely disrupted daily life. "Fridges have run down, food has gone off, many people do not have gas stoves, and without electricity we cannot pump water into our tanks," she posted online.
Additional criticism surfaced online on Tuesday 19 May, with resident Naomi Thorne questioning whether sufficient preventative maintenance had been carried out before the storm.
"Municipality and Eskom, if you had kept your lines and poles clean from day one, this wouldn't have taken forever to restore," she wrote.
Her comments sparked debate among residents, with Johann Brummer agreeing that poor planning and insufficient maintenance had contributed to the scale of the crisis.
Others pointed to the responsibilities of landowners in maintaining vegetation near power infrastructure.
Uncertainty continues
Despite ongoing repair efforts, many residents say the greatest frustration remains the lack of reliable communication regarding restoration timelines.
With some communities now two weeks without electricity, residents continue calling for improved infrastructure maintenance, greater transparency and better contingency planning as the region recovers from the devastating storm.
Amid the hardship, however, community leaders say the support shown by residents, organisations and volunteers has highlighted the spirit of ubuntu and unity.
Despite repeated attempts by the Knysna-Plett Herald and reportedly various local fraternities to obtain clarity from Eskom, communication has remained limited, leaving frustrated residents increasingly fed up with the ongoing uncertainty.
In a public statement on Tuesday 19 May, Bitou Municipality said that Eskom had provided an update that morning.
According to Eskom, Robberg 1 - including Kurland, Nature's Valley and Covie - is expected to have electricity supply restored by Friday 22 May at the latest while Robberg 2 - including Fisantehoek and Harkerville - may require an additional week for restoration due to the extent of infrastructure damage caused by the severe weather, as well as incidents of cable theft.
"The municipality acknowledges the frustration and hardship experienced by affected residents, businesses, and communities during this prolonged outage period," the municipality's statement read.
"We remain in continuous engagement with Eskom and have requested that their official status updates be expanded to clearly reflect all neighbourhoods within Bitou that remain without electricity connectivity.
"Bitou Municipality will continue to provide updates as further information becomes available."
At the time of going to press, no official comment had been received from Eskom.
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