Vandalised substation plunges Ekurhuleni into darkness

Eskom said it is working around the clock to rebuild the Gravett substation in Nigel after it was extensively vandalised, plunging small business customers in the surrounding areas into extended darkness.

Customers in Driemanskap plots, Glenroy farms, Rooikraal and Suikerbosrand are currently without electricity due to the vandalism of the substation.

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Eskom said residents and business owners may be without electricity for an extended period while it executes the repairs to the damaged substation.

“The enormous damage caused requires that the substation be rebuilt and it is estimated that it may take more than a week to repair and restore supply to the affected areas. Eskom is pulling out all the stops to ensure the speedy, but proper and safe reconstruction of the substation.”

The power utility recently expressed concern about the increase in incidents of theft and vandalism of its electricity infrastructure in Gauteng.

Eskom said it has intensified efforts to address the ongoing theft and vandalism of its electricity infrastructure through partnering with law enforcement agencies and communities across the Gauteng province.

“The partnership, as reported by Eskom, proves to be yielding fruits as more people are coming forward with information that has led to several arrests, prosecutions and convictions.”

Meanwhile, 24 hours after it suspended load shedding, Eskom has implemented stage 2 load shedding from 5pm until 10pm on Monday.

The dark lords of Megawatt Park said that three generation units “are expected to return to service by Monday evening, which will ramp up through the night.

“We currently have 2,246MW on planned maintenance, while another 15,847MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.”

However, with the onset of winter and cold weather conditions, the high demand is likely to put more pressure on the grid.

The parastatal has called on South Africans to reduce the usage of electricity by switching off all non-essential items adding that there is an “elevated risk of load shedding over the coming weeks.

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