Work under way to restore power

Boitumelo Makhurane, Chronicle Reporter
ZESA is still working on fixing an electrical fault at its substation in Belmont industrial area that has been down since Monday evening resulting in a power blackout in parts of Bulawayo.

The fault has caused a blackout in parts of the city centre and residential areas such as Suburbs, Woodlands and some parts of Ilanda.

Zesa acting western region general manager Engineer Lloyd Jaji said their technical team was working to fix the problem.

“The technical team is still working flat out to restore electricity in the affected areas,” he said.

Eng Jaji said the ongoing works could result in some affected areas getting electricity as efforts continue to fully restore power.

“The loss of power supplies has been caused by a technical fault in Belmont, the technical team is still working on restoring electricity to the affected consumers,” said Eng Jaji.

He apologised for the interruption of power supply in the affected areas.

“Customers will be updated as the situation improves and the inconvenience caused is sincerely regretted,” said Eng Jaji.

The fault has affected business operations in the city centre with some companies using generators as an alternative.
Informal business operators raised concerns over the power blackout saying that it has affected their businesses as they could not render their usual services to their customers and business was slow.

Since the onset of the rainy season, power cuts have increased throughout the city resulting in some businesses and residents going for hours without electricity.

The power outages being experienced in parts of Bulawayo and the southern region have also been attributed to rampant vandalism and theft of electricity infrastructure.