Serious questions have been raised over maintenance failure after two transmission towers collapsed in Gqeberha on Thursday. While the municipality tries to restore power, small businesses are struggling to stay afloat, and the water supply has been disrupted.

The Nelson Mandela Bay metro will have to fork out an estimated R10-million to restore electricity to the many communities that were affected when the Bethelsdorp-Greenbushes 132kV powerline was knocked out of action by the collapse of two rusted pylons that supported the line.

The Bethelsdorp-Greenbushes line is one of several prioritised for replacement following a 2024/25 committee presentation that highlighted its precarious condition.

Ongoing power outages since the pylons collapsed on Thursday have crippled the water supply to dozens of communities. This is due to several municipal pump stations that lack backup generators, and remain entirely dependent on a stable electricity supply to function.

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

Tankers were delivering water to the affected communities as efforts continued to restore electricity to the affected pump stations.

The metro announced a rotational supply schedule, promising affected communities three hours of electricity followed by nine-hour outages. However, the roll-out was inconsistent: while some areas received their limited power quota, others remained entirely without electricity.

The appointed contractor spent the weekend excavating deep trenches and foundations for new pylons, which were anchored in concrete to allow the foundations to set before transmission cables are restrung.

By Sunday afternoon, four poles had been erected and two...