Tshwane Metro residents are currently experiencing the gradual technical collapse of the electricity network, which is jeopardising the entire metropolitan area.
While the Metro’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) report for the second quarter of 2025/2026 attempts to present a positive picture – claiming a 92% response rate to public queries – the actual data tell a very different story.
The Department of Energy and Electricity’s completion rate for power faults has dropped to just 37%, with more than 12 000 technical requests outstanding for longer than 90 days.
At the heart of the crisis is a critical shortage of skilled personnel. Tshwane operates 55 substations at 132kV (excluding Regions 5 and 7), yet has only 26 qualified technicians authorised to work on the high-voltage network. This equates to fewer than one qualified official for every two substations.
This shortage makes it physically impossible to resolve faults timeously, leaving residents stranded without electricity for days on end. It also creates a dangerous situation in which unauthorised personnel may be pressured to perform high-risk work – constituting a direct contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
While millions are spent on new infrastructure projects, such as the Wildebeest bulk supply scheme, maintaining existing infrastructure and developing critical human capital are seriously neglected.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) insists that the Metro immediately call in external specialists from the private sector to address this artificial skills shortage. Without immediate and practical intervention, Tshwane’s electricity network will keep collapsing.
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