Sub-station fire knocks out power in parts of Tshwane

A fire that broke out at the Kloofsig Substation lateon Tuesday night has resulted in power cuts across several parts of Centurion.

Emergency teams responded to the fire in the early hours of Wednesday and managed to douse the flames.

The cause of the fire remains unknown at this stage. The City of Tshwane said insurance assessments need to be conducted in order for technical teams to safely access the ravaged station.

“The City’s technicians are on-site assessing the damage, gathering material and cobbling together a recovery plan,” said Communications Director Selby Bokaba.

“It is too early to estimate when power will be restored to the affected areas,” Bokoba added.

Frustrated residents took to social media to air their concerns, with some speculating whether the fire was an act of sabotage.

“Who is burning our substations….? It can’t be a coincidence that two substations burned down within a month period,” asked @mickeydedrinker

“1st Wapadrand, 2nd Mooikloof and 3rd Kloofsig substation that burned down??? Come on man this is sabotage!!! One can go so far and say this is terrorism,” @LW4477.

“This is not ON, where is our intelligence?” @Tshepomoloto16

The Kloofsig sub-station fire comes within a month of another fire at Mooikloof sub-station that left Tshwane residents without power for nearly two weeks.

The affected suburbs were Moreleta Park, Pretorius Park, Mooikloof, Olympus, Woodlands and part of Garsfontein.

On 1 December, residents of Bedfordview in Ekhuruleni were left without power for nearly a week after cable thieves hit the Bedfordview sub-station. 

Eskom said there was extensive damage caused by the attempted cable theft and vandalism of back-feeding oil-filled cables and electricity infrastructure.

NOW READ: Bedfordview power outage update: Repairs work is extensive, says Eskom