Prepaid electricity customers left in the dark over the weekend

By Khanyisa Tabata
21 November 2011

Prepaid electricity customers were left in the dark for hours after the card vending system went offline over the weekend. Vendors were unable to log into the system which meant customers could not buy electricity.

Eskom spokesperson, Hilary Joffe explains that routine maintenance had slowed down the system and caused data lock issues for people trying to buy electricity.

According to Joffe, some areas in the Eastern Cape have been affected, while the Western Cape was worse off.

Meanwhile The Congress of the South African Trade Union says is outraged at the failure of the Eskom to provide consistent electricity supply for the entire weekend.

Cosatu’s Tony Ehrenreich says the failure of the services of Eskom to provide much needed electricity for the entire weekend is unacceptable.

He says they are calling on Eskom to investigate the failure of the service in the City of Cape Town and take urgent steps to fix this.