SECUNDA – Overloading on the current municipal electricity infrastructure seems to be the main reason for the numerous power outages in the Govan Mbeki Municipal area.
Even before the winter began, Secunda was plagued by power outages, several of which were due to faulty cables and exploding transformers.
Normal maintenance work on the various ring feed substations also caused many headaches when overloaded cables and transformers could not handle the electricity demand when the electricity was eventually restored.
Ms Mariaan Chamberlain, DA representative: technical services, was of the opinion that the existing electricity infrastructure is outdated and despite the town’s rapid expansion, the infrastructure remained the same.
“More and more electricity is being required to also supply the newer extensions. This leads to the overloading of the existing transformers and cables. As the saying goes: something has got to give.”
The dilemma at Panorama Complex in Secunda last week was the end result.
Residents of the complex endured nearly an entire week without electricity.
Ms Rina Victor, a resident, said on Facebook that the babies were dirty and cold and that residents could not prepare food.
An appeal to Sasol to intervene was unsuccessful.
The residents, employees of Sasol, received letters of apology, explaining that Govan Mbeki Municipality’s transformer in the mini substation feeding the complex was faulty and there was not one big enough to replace it.
The technical department of Govan Mbeki Municipality opted to temporarily solve the problem by replacing the faulty transformer with another one of the same size.
Mr Gawie Harmse from Mica offered his truck to transport it to the Panorama Complex.
The electricity demand on this transformer was so huge at the initial startup, that a cable connected to the transformer blew. The problem was eventually solved, but only temporarily.
Ms Chamberlain said the only real solution is a larger transformer.
A similar scenario was that of the transformer that exploded in Langenhoven Street earlier this year.
A week after installing the temporary transformer, it caught fire.
The municipality eventually had to replace it with a new transformer.
Moisture seeping into an old connection on an electricity cable caused another electrical outage in the light industrial areas between and around the police station and municipal fire station on Friday, 13 July.
The municipal call centre was also affected and no calls could be answered.
The latest in Secunda’s electricity woes, was a transformer that exploded in Oliver Tambo Street opposite Tuscon Village, causing the ring sub 1 to trip and affecting the households and businesses on Van Papendorf and Danie Theron streets and the industrial area at the municipal fire station on Sunday night, 15 July.
A long-time troublemaker cable connecting ring sub 1 at the CBD and ring sub 2 was the real issue.
If ring sub 1 goes off, ring sub 2 automatically also trips to leave the areas around Laerskool Secunda and Coen Brits without electricity. Fortunately ring sub 2 remained on during Sunday night.
A team was working on solving the problem on Monday morning, but according to Ms Chamberlain the prognosis did not look good.
She said at time of going to press on Monday, the crew’s team leader was unsure whether the problem could be repaired or whether the transformer had to be replaced.
Ms Chamberlain said possible reasons for the explosion could be low oil levels on the transformer.
“The oil levels in a transformer need to be maintained in order to keep it cool.”
https://www.citizen.co.za/ridge-times/113830/electricity-issues-is-fixed-but-businesses-suffer-great-loss/
https://www.citizen.co.za/ridge-times/112643/transformers-act-up-over-weekend/
