Nelson Mandela Bay’s electricity grid is hanging by a thread. Between August 2024 and July 2025, the system suffered 1,630 faults, which averages more than four breakdowns every single day.
Each break took, on average, more than 10 hours to repair. Is this a sign of a grid in crisis?
Councillors adjourned this week’s electricity and energy committee meeting because officials tabled outdated reports.
The city’s lawmakers cannot be expected to make decisions based on old information, especially because the repeated breaks plunge the city deeper into crisis every day there is an outage.
A report to the electricity committee shows that maintenance of the grid is virtually non-existent.
Just 154 preventive maintenance jobs were done over the course of a year, with only two tasks recorded in April.
Overall, the trend shows a steady decline in maintenance.
This is especially concerning, and surprising, if one considers the astronomical overtime bill which is draining the municipality’s coffers.
It should worry us all because the municipality is effectively running a grid on patchwork fixes, waiting for things to break before rushing to repair them.
No system can be stabilised under such conditions.
It is encouraging that theft and vandalism of infrastructure appear to be declining, but it is not enough to celebrate.
The West Depot alone accounted for more than 40% of all faults, largely because of its rural exposure to weather and wildlife. Other depots are also struggling with high repair loads and too few resources.
The report makes sensible recommendations, including the provision of more tools and vehicles for artisans, filling vacant posts, investing in security to safeguard infrastructure and increasing operating budgets to allow for proper, scheduled maintenance.
But the recommendations do not mean much if they are not implemented and without proper mechanisms to monitor progress.
In a city already battered by economic stagnation and failing infrastructure, electricity instability could be the final straw.
Businesses can thrive only in an environment that is conducive to growth, and that requires a stable electricity and water supply — both which have been sorely lacking in recent years.
The Herald
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