Aranajulam Govender, left, and Pramalall Ramdial make tea, using a kettle for the first time in 11 months.
Image: Monishka Govender
A MONTH after the POST highlighted the plight of Emona residents, their electricity was restored on Wednesday night, April 29, after almost a year of darkness.
For some, the excitement of being back on the grid, felt like a New Year’s Eve celebration as their lives returned to normal.
“It felt like being back in civilisation. I was overjoyed to see everyone so happy after such a long time," said Reshma Bansee, who has lived in Emona her entire life.
She said that despite intervention from councillors, the community believed the turning point came when the POST highlighted their plight.
Bansee said the print and online articles and pictures, which showed the life of the community without electricity, prompted Eskom to take action.
"Last Wednesday, the transformers in the area were replaced. We were so overwhelmed to see the contractor there. We did not know we would get electricity that night. No one had phoned us beforehand."
Bansee said during the 11 months without power, many in the community could not use electrical appliances.
The toughest was being without a fridge, to store their food, she said.
She said that while she was fortunate to have a solar system, they had to limit the use of appliances.
“I am so happy for my neighbours. It was difficult watching them suffer for months without receiving any answers or help. They are finally smiling after so many months."
Another resident, Melanie Ramdial, said: "We did not know that the power would come on so quickly after the article was published. I was excited when I saw the Eskom contractor working on the transformer last Wednesday. The whole area was beaming. It was like a New Year’s Eve celebration.
“The power returned at 8.30pm and we had to get used to the lights being on again. We turned on every light in the house and just smiled.
"The appliances were used after 11 months. We must credit the POST, who told our story when nobody else cared about us."
The transformer which was replaced by Eskom.
Image: Monishka Govender
She said they would now speak to the residents of a nearby informal settlement about illegal connections which resulted in the power outages.
“We hope we can stop it because that damaged the transformer."
Lalbahadur Ramdial, the brother of 73-year-old Puumathe Ramdial, said the return of electricity was meaningful to his sibling because she relied on medical equipment.
“She can now use her oxygen machine which requires electricity to work. We never thought that it would happen. We are so grateful for all the help from the POST newspaper.
“She can also power her TV and we no longer need to worry about running out of paraffin, about our food spoiling, running out of candles, or heating water to bath. We can just live normally once again,” he said.
Returning to normal, he said, "felt like a blessing".
DA Councillor Nicole Bollman attributed the breakthrough to ongoing advocacy, political engagement, and persistent follow-ups.
"After 11 months without electricity, the restoration of power to Emona was the result of sustained and co-ordinated pressure from multiple stakeholders. This included continuous escalation to Eskom, political intervention at both local and national level, and persistent follow-ups to ensure the matter remained a priority.”
She said a critical part of this process was the ongoing pressure from Bansee.
"Her consistent advocacy ensured the issue was not forgotten. In addition, through the DA’s position in the Government of National Unity (GNU), the matter was escalated to Samantha Graham-Maré, who assisted in directing us to the appropriate Eskom officials to unlock progress.”
According to Bollman, the electricity was restored only after all parties aligned, and necessary technical approvals were secured. She explained that the prolonged outage was initially triggered by infrastructure failure.
“The outage was caused by the failure of a heavily overloaded transformer, primarily due to sustained pressure from illegal electricity connections on already constrained infrastructure. This resulted in the collapse of the local network, and left compliant and paying households without electricity for 11 months.”
However, she noted that the delay in resolving the issue went beyond technical challenges.
“The delay in resolving the issue was not purely technical. It was compounded by compliance requirements, infrastructure limitations, and a lack of co-ordinated urgency between responsible entities. As a result, what should have been a routine infrastructure repair escalated into a prolonged service delivery failure.”
Bollman said that while Eskom carried out the physical restoration, the outcome resulted from collective efforts.
“Eskom carried out the physical restoration of electricity, as the licensed provider in the area. However, this outcome was the result of cumulative efforts, including political representatives, civic leadership, and community members, all working together to drive resolution.
“This included escalating the matter consistently to Eskom and relevant authorities, leveraging national government channels through the GNU to unlock blockages, supporting and amplifying the concerns of affected residents, and applying sustained pressure to ensure accountability and movement.”
Despite the restoration, Bollman warned that challenges remained.
“While electricity has now been restored, the matter is far from fully resolved. The infrastructure remains vulnerable to overloading, particularly as we approach the winter months when demand increases.
“A follow-up meeting with Eskom is scheduled for early next week, where plans for a more sustainable and long-term electricity supply to the area will be discussed. Ensuring stability and preventing a recurrence of this situation remains a priority.”
In a previous statement, ward 61 councillor Dolly Munien referenced Eskom’s broader stance on infrastructure protection.
“The representative said Emona’s case was not the only area where the blown transformer was not replaced. The Eskom website lists illegal connections that have blown transformers in the process. This process requires 75% of people in the area to be paying customers for the issues to be resolved.”
She added that similar situations had occurred elsewhere.
“All other areas have had similar issues where the transformer is blown. If they are paying customers, they will replace it. People who are not paying will not get a transformer replaced. People in Emona need to protect the infrastructure.”
Eskom did not comment by the time of publication.
** The community experienced a power outage during Tuesday night's storm.