Erasmia residents were once again left in the dark this past Wednesday night, January 17, and Thursday, January 18, when approximately 32 metres of electric cabling was stolen from the road commonly referred to as the link road (Barbara Coetzer) between Laudium and Erasmia.
The theft led to a major power outage through various parts of Erasmia.
One irate Erasmia resident exclaimed, "My oven blew and food went off. It’s so hot and now the fridges are not working. This is bad! I hope the council does something about this and fast! Each time we call to check on progress, we are charged for the call. We make them rich and get no service in return. This is ridiculous! There is no one at my home during the day so when we get home, we have to buy fast foods which are not only expensive but also unhealthy. Not having electricity for such long periods of time, becomes problematic as we cannot send our children to bed without eating and having a hot bath."
Another affected resident, Suhail Ibrahim who moved to Erasmia six months back, said, "To be without electricity in a suburb like Erasmia for a whole day and night is unbelievable. I feel as if I am living in some rural village. Something has to be done about these incessant thieves and their cable stealing. I have truly had it with this crime! Not only do these hoodlums steal the cables, but the darkness opens the door for other criminal activity to take place!"
Speaking to the Laudium Sun, Councillor Mahomed Essop confirmed, "The power outage began at around 9pm on Wednesday night due to cable theft. Council technicians have been, and are currently working on the problem. The power should return by tonight (Thursday night)."
The dug up area from which cables were stolen.
Councillor Essop asked residents to be patient as technicians were working on the power outage in Erasmia.