Little Falls residents protest ongoing power outage

Angry residents took to the streets on Sunday, February 15, after being without electricity for four days. Protesters blocked Hendrik Potgieter Road near the motorcycle dealership as frustration over ongoing power problems boiled over. Ward 89 councillor Zander Shawe said parts of the area have been without power since Thursday, February 12.

According to Shawe, it took City Power four days to locate the fault and source the necessary materials to carry out repairs. He said the protest was not only about the current outage but about a long history of recurring power failures in the area. “The people here are more off than they are on,” Shawe said, explaining that electricity interruptions occur so frequently that residents have lost confidence in the reliability of the supply.

He added that the infrastructure is severely damaged, with multiple cable faults across the area. “Even if City Power restores the electricity now, we don’t know how long it will remain on before it trips again,” he said. Shawe also noted that Little Falls is often grouped with nearby Peter Road during outages.

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When power is restored to Peter Road, Little Falls residents are sometimes left without electricity and overlooked. Most of the protesters live in residential complexes, although some freestanding homes are also affected. Police and emergency services were on the scene to monitor the protest.

However, no City Power representative arrived to address residents, despite being informed earlier of the planned protest and being requested to send a representative. Shawe said the demonstration reflects years of frustration over ongoing electricity supply issues, not only the four-day outage.

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