Blue Hill residents back online after mini-transformer fire

Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the ward councillor and Eskom, power was restored to the residents as soon as was possible.

Comfort Makhanya

4 hours ago

The mini-transformer engulfed in fire.

A mini-transformer in Blue Hill recently caught fire due to a fault, leaving many residents without electricity for several hours.

This outage caused significant inconvenience, disrupting daily activities and affecting residents’ quality of life.

Blue Hill faced an unexpected crisis when a mini-transformer caught fire.

Fortunately, the situation was handled promptly thanks to the quick and efficient response from Eskom, which ensured that the residents were able to regain power in a relatively short period of time.

Lerato Mphefo, the councillor for Ward 112, where Blue Hill is situated, confirmed that the mini-transformer did catch fire on October 9.

Ward 112 councillor Lerato Mphefo called all the relevant officials to respond to the burning mini-substation.

She immediately expressed her concern for the residents and the urgency of the situation. “I saw pictures and video of the mini-transformer engulfed in flames and immediately contacted the fire department, as well as City Power and Eskom. They did not hesitate and were very prompt in arriving at the scene to address the issue,” said Mphefo.

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“Eskom isolated the transformer the night of the fire and indicated that they would send their operations team in the morning to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the incident.”

Eskom officials replace the mini-trasformer.

Amanda Qithi, Eskom’s spokesperson, confirmed their swift response, explaining, “The cause of the mini-substation burning was due to a fault that occurred, which ultimately led to the fire.

“When we arrived, on the same day, our first priority was to isolate the area to make it safe for everyone, and then we extinguished the fire.”

Eskom officials respond swifly to the burned mini-transformer.

She also noted that an alternative source of power was provided to the affected residents to alleviate the impact of the outage.

The councillor confirmed that by the following day, power had been successfully restored to the residents of Blue Hill, allowing them to return to their regular routines.