“Poor Planning Turns Electricity Upgrade into New Year Crisis” [letter to the editor] 

Platinum Bushvelder newspaper | Thabazimbi – The new year began on a far from positive note for many Thabazimbi residents, as the municipality’s electricity system changeover proved to be more of a catastrophe than a success.

As the new system was implemented on 1 January 2026, a public holiday, numerous households were left without electricity as their meters transitioned to the new platform. For many residents, this caused serious difficulties. A large number of households customarily purchase electricity on the first day of each month, but this time, despite having bought power, they were unable to use it. The reason was that the electricity meter boxes required updating by municipal electrical teams before the new tokens could be read.

While households without electricity were reportedly prioritised, there were simply not enough support teams available to assist residents timeously. As a result, many people were left without power for more than 48 hours. This widespread outage could have been avoided with better planning and execution. It is unreasonable to implement a town-wide system change without sufficient support teams in place to manage the transition effectively.

The impact on residents was significant. Thabazimbi is known for its intense summer heat, with daytime temperatures at this time of year often climbing well above 35 °C and frequently pushing into the high 30s. Under these conditions, many households could not even operate a fan. More concerning still, some residents rely on electrically powered medical equipment, placing their health and safety at serious risk.

The timing of this failure could hardly have been worse. Schools had just reopened, and families with young children were left trying to cope with extreme heat, disrupted routines, and no reliable access to electricity or, in many cases, water. Anyone raising children knows how difficult this becomes under normal circumstances — let alone during a heatwave with basic services unavailable.

Residents deserve better planning, communication, and service delivery. A system change of this magnitude should not result in households being left without electricity for days, especially during extreme heat and over a public holiday. Unfortunately, this is not a new problem. It is an aging one, and regardless of who occupies the mayoral seat at any given time, the outcome seems depressingly familiar.

(The editor may have removed a few words here and there — understandably so — as it becomes increasingly difficult to remain professional when living in a town that consistently lags behind in providing basic services such as water and electricity.)

Yours sincerely,
A concerned Thabazimbi resident