Residents across parts of Tshwane are facing a deepening utility crisis, with prolonged power outages now compounded by water supply failures, sparking public protests and urgent municipal intervention.
The situation remains most acute in East Lynne, where electricity, restored only last Wednesday after a devastating 17-day outage, has failed again. The initial outage began on 26 December 2025 due to a fire at the crucial Koedoespoort substation. This time, the area is also suffering from a complete lack of water.
The crisis extends beyond a single suburb. Large sections of Pretoria East and Centurion have now been without electricity for more than four days, adding to the growing discontent.
This frustration boiled over today as a group of angry residents staged a protest in the Tshwane inner city, delivering a memorandum of grievances to the city’s leadership.
MMC Responds to Protests, Acknowledges “Communication” Failures
Following a meeting with the protesters, the MMC for Utility Services in Tshwane addressed the media. He confirmed that the December outage was caused by the substation fire and asserted that “the electricity has been restored to all the other areas.”
Regarding East Lynne, the MMC stated he had met with residents on Friday, assuring them power would return by the 11th. “I am happy to announce that the power is now back and the residents are happy that the power is now back,” he said.
He acknowledged the residents’ primary complaint was poor communication from the city, pledging to improve the flow of information during future crises. When confronted with reports of ongoing low voltage and single outages in some areas, the MMC maintained that “overall the power is back.”
Water Cut-Off Linked to Repair Efforts
On the critical water issue in East Lynne, the MMC admitted it was caused by municipal workers. “On Friday the team from the electricity they were repairing the electrical outage… they accidentally damaged the pipe,” he explained. He assured residents that the pipe had been repaired and that water would soon be “trickling and flowing.”
Mayor’s Office to Engage Community
The MMC confirmed he accepted the residents’ memorandum, which covered a range of service delivery issues beyond electricity. He also revealed that the office of the Executive Mayor, Dr. Nasiphi Moya, has set a date to engage with the community directly on 23 January.
While the MMC presented a picture of resolving issues, the reporter on scene noted that the departing residents could not be immediately reached to verify if they accepted the MMC’s feedback. “For now it looks like everything is okay in East Lynne. We don’t know,” the reporter concluded, indicating community sentiment remains unclear.
For now, thousands of residents across the region wait for consistent power and water restoration, with a formal meeting with the mayor’s office now scheduled for later this month.