In what has become a monthly ordeal, residents across Lenasia South, Migson Manor, Fine Town, Mountain View and Unaville were plunged into darkness once again-this time for five consecutive days during one of winter’s coldest spells.
The outage, linked to major faults at the Lunar Substation, triggered public outrage. On Monday night, 30 June, fed-up residents blocked the N1 highway at Grasmere Toll Plaza in a dramatic protest. Traffic was brought to a standstill, trucks were stoned and frustrated motorists were forced to reroute. The protest reignited the following night, 1 July.
City Power dispatched teams and while power briefly returned to some areas on Tuesday, it tripped again early Wednesday morning, dashing hopes of lasting relief.
“Ext 4 off for 5 days now. I’ve actually lost all hope of living a normal life with lights. Seems to be a luxury we don’t get,” said one WhatsApp group member. “Why are they never mentioning that power outages are because of the overload from mushrooming informal settlements? They are not getting to the root of the problem,” another resident questioned.“ This is not right. From Saturday until now-false promises. We have babies and elderly people to consider,” added one concerned mother.
Despite mounting tension, volunteer community members stepped up once again, using their own resources and time to communicate updates across local WhatsApp groups, while trying to calm growing fears and prevent appliance damage during potential restorations.
Ward 7 Councillor, Lois Simonse, also emerged as a key figure during the crisis. She worked around the clock to ensure communication from City Power was relayed accurately to the public. Her video updates from the Lunar Substation received praise on social media and helped residents better understand the technical delays.
By midday on Wednesday, 2 July, partial restoration took place. A 1:20pm City Power Lenasia CDC update confirmed that Lenasia South Ext 4 had been restored. “City Power will now test on their side, and if all clears, Migson Manor, Fine Town and Unaville will be restored. There is no estimated time of restoration at this point,” the statement said.
Still, many areas remained off as of publishing. Residents are calling for transparency, stronger infrastructure and lasting solutions.
“I’m convinced this is not just a technical issue -it’s service delivery failure. Power is a basic need,” one resident posted.
As the lights flicker unpredictably across Lenasia South, one thing remains constant -a community determined to speak out and survive, even in the dark.
