Eskom restores bulk electricity to Jagersfontein

As residents of Jagersfontein in the Free State pick up the pieces following the dam disaster, embattled parastatal Eskom said bulk electricity was restored to the area on Wednesday morning.

Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said technicians worked around the clock to restore electricity supply.

“Technicians installed and energised a replacement transformer at Badplaas substation in Jagersfontein after Rietkuil substation was destroyed on Sunday, 11 September 2022, when mud burst through a broken wall of a nearby mining dam, flooding the area.”

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“Although we aimed to restore supply before midnight on Tuesday, 13 September 2022, minor complications delayed the recovery process,” Mantshantsha said.

Mantshantsha said Eskom delivers electricity in bulk to Centlec, who then distributes it to Jagersfontein and Charlesville.

“Electricity users who are still without supply should report it to their electricity service provider,” he added.

Over 300 residents in the small Free State town were left homeless after water from a dam located at a Jagersfontein Developments mine cracked open and flooded the area.

The death toll from the Jagersfontein disaster is still unclear amid conflicting reports with the fatalities varying from one to five.

Load Shedding

Meanwhile, Eskom implemented stage 4 load shedding until 5am on Thursday morning.

The dark lords at Megawatt Park said the escalation of rolling blackouts to stage 4 was the result of a problem at the Kendal Power Station.

Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said a sudden tripping of three Kendal Power Station units (1 920MW maximum generating capacity) has forced the implementation of stage 4 load shedding starting at 10am this morning.

Load shedding during summer

On Monday, the givers and takers of light said deliberate sporadic power cuts were likely to be implemented during summer months.

Eskom Chief Operating Officer Jan Oberholzer said Eskom suffered a ‘disastrous’ week as 42 generating units tripped, which resulted in the current blackouts.

“We are ramping up planned maintenance as we head into summer. We also find that our maintenance is not yet yielding required results. Units return to work, and then breakdown. This is due to lack of skills,” Oberholzer said.

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