Power surge leads to exploding appliances

Residents on Golf Avenue in Randpark, north of Johannesburg, experienced power surges that resulted in some of their appliances burning or exploding, Randburg Sun reports.

Niel Uys, street captain of the Golf and Wedge avenues’ community security group, said his wife called him into the kitchen following a strange noise at about 1.30pm.

“I heard the microwave making funny sounds, like popping noises while the microwave was off,” he said.

He went to fetch his voltage meter reader, as he suspected that this could be due to a power surge.

As he connected the meter, the reading stood at 387.2V. Normally, it should be 220V. Uys immediately sent a message on the security group’s WhatsApp group advising everyone on his street to turn off all appliances and main switches.

Niel Uys’s meter reading at 1.30pm. Picture: Randburg Sun

Unfortunately, it was too late for some. One Golf Avenue resident said that at the time of the surge, he was watching TV, and out of nowhere “the oven, TV and DSTV decoder exploded”.

He went on to express his main frustration with the lack of power being an enormous security risk.

“As we speak, our alarms and gates aren’t working,” he said.

A surge plug that was damaged during the surge. Picture: Randburg Sun

READ MORE: Roodepoort residents slam City Power over outages

Residences have called and used social media to find out from City Power when the issue will be solved, said Kobus Kahts.

Kahts said an engineer had been assigned by City Power to deal with the problem, but nothing has been fixed or it is in the process of fixing. His concern is that houses could go up in flames or that someone could get injured if the power surge is not dealt with.

Ward 98 councillor Beverley Weweje said theft and vandalism were the direct reason for the power surges.

A phone charger that caught alight following the power surge.

She added: “Over the last two weeks, theft and vandalism in Ward 98 have been on the rise.”

Windsor East, Windsor West, Windsor Glen, Cresta Ext 1 and surrounding areas have experienced the same challenges recently. According to Weweje, criminals are stealing important power cables, and City Power is doing what it can to repair these as fast as possible.

READ MORE

Roodeport residents slam City Power over outages

– Caxton News Service