PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - The residents of Harkerville and surrounding communities outside town, who have been left without electricity for more than a month following the devastating storms early in May, are demanding urgent intervention amid mounting financial losses and growing concerns over Eskom's handling of the crisis.

Plat Padda Padstal along the N2 on the outskirts of town was filled to capacity on Saturday 13 June as frustrated residents gathered for a public meeting with Bitou's mayor, Jessica Kamkam, the acting municipal manager, Roderick Williams, ward councillor Annelise Olivier and several Eskom representatives.

Communities such as Harkerville, Fisantehoek, Buffelsnek, Garden of Eden and surrounding rural areas have been severely affected by the prolonged outages. Eskom's latest estimates suggest that some customers may only see power restored by around 25 or 30 June.

The residents repeatedly raised their concerns over what they described as a lack of transparency and poor communication from the power utility.

One resident questioned what steps could be taken to persuade Eskom's head office to deploy additional repair teams to the area, arguing that the current response has been too slow. 

"It is clear that more teams are needed to speed up restoration," they said. Others questioned why the disaster had not been escalated to a national disaster level.

Businesses under pressure

The prolonged outages have taken a heavy toll on businesses, farmers and vulnerable residents. Knysna-Plett Herald has learnt that some businesses are spending in excess of R100 000 on diesel to keep generators running and are now facing possible closure. 

The residents also expressed their concerns about the impact on retirement villages, as reports had come in that some deaths had occurred during the crisis. 

Food spoilage, interrupted farming operations and ongoing uncertainty have further added to the hardships.

Municipality pledges continued support

In a statement issued following the meeting, Bitou Municipality acknowledged the significant hard-ships being experienced by the residents, businesses, farmers and property owners. 

The municipality said it understands the seriousness of the situation and noted the concerns about financial losses, food spoilage and the well-being of vulnerable residents.

While emphasising that Eskom remains the licensed electricity provider in the affected areas, the municipality said it has been facilitating communication between Eskom and the community and would continue advocating for urgent intervention and accelerated restoration efforts. 

"The municipality remains engaged with Eskom and other stakeholders and will continue to support initiatives aimed at finding a sustainable resolution to the outage," the statement read.

Bitou Municipality further assured the residents that it would continue monitoring developments, engage relevant stakeholders and keep the community informed as updates become available.

Questions over vegetation management

During the meeting, Knysna-Plett Herald asked Eskom what measures were being implemented to prevent a similar crisis from recurring. The newspaper questioned the value of repairing damaged infrastructure if the vegetation surrounding the transmission corridors remains unchanged.

The question went unanswered. 

Meanwhile, some research the paper conducted uncovered aerial footage captured by local photographer Keith Garnett Millar, showing extensive vegetation encroaching on Eskom power line corridors between Plettenberg Bay and The Crags.

In a social media post published on 22 May, Millar said he had documented the overgrown corridors as early as April last year. According to him, Eskom had previously identified the Garden Route's dense forest areas as a significant risk in the event of severe storms and had reportedly awarded a tender for the clearing of vegetation along power line routes. 

However, he alleged that despite the dangers being recognised, insufficient action was taken.

"I hope this may help people understand one of the major reasons that had been identified by Eskom as a potential disaster, and yet nothing was done about it," Millar wrote. He further stressed that the issue extended beyond Harkerville and had also contributed to lengthy outages experienced elsewhere along the Garden Route, including Sedgefield.

Calls for lasting solutions

The residents left Saturday's meeting demanding more than temporary repairs. 

While Eskom provided updates on the technical challenges and work currently under way, many residents called for greater urgency, clearer timelines and long-term preventative measures to ensure they are not once again left without electricity for weeks following severe weather events.

The representatives of Bitou Municipality, Eskom and the community stakeholders are expected to continue engaging on electricity-related challenges as the restoration efforts continue.

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