Jo: Trengwainton in Woodside is back on. 🤩
Peter: Bramble close back on congratulations to all the eskom chap’s and all the hard work. 🙏
Don: On! 223 V! Redcoat Lane. Many thanks. 👏👏👏👏🥂
Riona: On at Vukani 🥳🥳🥳🥳 Dankie!!
Ben and Diana: THANK YOU ESKOM WE ON.
Rory: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy…….. Thank you for perseverance.
Felicity: Thanks to Sugne, the angel of light! And thanks to the Eskom team for all that hard work in Hogsback’s unpredictable weather.
Whatsapp on Hogsback
Sunday afternoon, 28 February 2021, brought more than two weeks of dire electricity problems to an end.
A peaceful protest had been organised by Hogsback residents earlier in the week to bring attention to the fact that a large area of Hogsback’s electricity supply has been compromised since 15 January 2021, and completely out since 18 February 2021.
The primary cause of the problem is an ageing electricity infrastructure that Eskom is now unable to maintain due to lack of suitable equipment.
The valiant efforts by the Eskom technicians who service Hogsback to repair the infrastructure have not gone unnoticed. They have done well to maintain the system with the resources available to them, especially during poor weather. The teams leave Adelaide early in the morning, spend the day (and sometimes evening) up poles, removing fallen trees, repeatedly answering the dreaded question, “When will the power be fixed?” every time a resident sees them on the side of the road. Often, they have resolved one issue only to drive off the mountain to discover that the electricity in another part of Hogsback is down.
If it were not for the dogged, respectful persistence and negotiations of people like Sugne Tomkins, we would probably still be without power. Through her, we have continued to pursue the various channels of communication available to us. This week’s peaceful protest was an expression of the high levels of frustration residents have been experiencing.
By late Tuesday, 23 February 2021, Eskom senior management was able to offer both a temporary and a permanent solution to address the problems with power supply to Hogsback!
A replacement transformer has been sourced to restore power supply to the affected area in Hogsback. Eskom has also made a commitment to implement their plan to upgrade their infrastructure as soon as possible.
We are thankful for this important progress, as Eskom’s options to maintain the current ageing system have clearly reached their expiry date.
Today the Eskom team was kept sustained through delicious food prepared by The Whole Hog Takeaway, delivered by The Flying Pig, and sponsored by generous Hogsback residents.
Final message of today from Sugne: The next step is the upgrade. We are currently waiting for DAFF approval. This is said to take 2-3 weeks.
Written by Jenny Newman and Fiona Wallace.
