What began as a reported cable fault with 2 Blown Jumpers / Ferals / Lugs on the 33KV Line at the Driefontein substation on 11th December 2024, quickly spiraled into a crisis of unprecedented proportions, leaving the Dolphin Coast reeling from economic paralysis and widespread frustration during the critical festive season. This catastrophic sequence of electrical failures has not only disrupted lives but has also, in the absence of any communicative participation by any of the executives, eroded the community’s confidence in the KwaDukuza Municipality’s (KDM) ability to competently manage essential services during critical times.
As the Dolphin Coast community grapples with the fallout, the Dolphin Coast Residents and Ratepayers Association (DOCRRA) expresses grave concern over KDM’s inadequate and amateurish handling of this major outage. The event has laid bare a troubling lack of preparedness and an absence of skilled oversight in managing one of the region’s most vital utilities.
Despite decades of experience with the heightened seasonal demand on essential services, KDM appeared alarmingly unprepared for a failure of this magnitude. The outage, which affected only the Southern Grid, has exposed deficiencies in resource allocation and a glaring lack of contingency planning. These failures have amplified the economic and personal toll on a region already under seasonal strain.
Effective communication is the bedrock of crisis management, yet the updates provided during this outage were sporadic, inconsistent, and often contradictory. While it is understood that predicting restoration timelines is challenging, the absence of regular, clear, and centralized communication has deepened public dissatisfaction. Timely, transparent updates are not a courtesy but an essential duty in maintaining public trust. In the age of digital communication and social media, it is easier than ever to relay relevant information to the public almost instantly, yet no such communication took place.
DOCRRA is demanding accountability and full transparency from the KDM Electricity Business Unit. To restore faith in the municipality’s ability to manage this essential service, we request a detailed timeline of events surrounding the outage, addressing the following critical points:
Additionally, we request detailed information on:
The lack of skilled personnel and apparent gaps in operational planning have not only delayed the restoration of power but has also highlighted systemic weaknesses within the municipality. These deficiencies undermine the confidence of residents and local businesses, whose livelihoods depend on a reliable and efficiently managed electricity supply. The absence of competency and foresight in managing this utility is casting doubt on KDM’s capacity to support a thriving regional economy. As DOCRRA have highlighted in the past, KDM responds only in a reactive manner to incidents and crises as they occur, rather than being proactive through adequate planning and maintenance. This is clearly evident when examining the KDM maintenance spend which sits well below the NERSA-recommended 6%.
This issue goes beyond the inconvenience of prolonged power outages. It speaks to the urgent need for accountability, robust planning, and professional expertise in managing critical infrastructure. Every resident and business on the Dolphin Coast have been affected, and it is imperative that KDM provides a verified account of this failure, along with concrete steps to prevent such incidents in the future.
DOCRRA demands immediate and transparent action to address this matter and calls on KDM to prioritize the restoration of trust through competence, accountability, and effective communication.
To view the letter sent to KDM which is available on the DOCRRA website, go to:
The residents and ratepayers of the Dolphin Coast deserve nothing less.
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