City Power has confirmed that the power in the areas supplied by the Bergbron substation could be restored by 9pm tonight (14 July).
City Power was already on the scene to repair the damage caused by an explosion and fire in the transformer.
DA ward councillor Steve Kotze said maintenance was done at the substation just before the explosion occurred. “Luckily no one was hurt.”
According to Patrick O’Halloran, City Powers’ chief engineer of condition monitoring, one of the two transformers was out of commission due to copper cable theft. “The first transformer was carrying the electricity supply load and because the system was overloaded, the transformer oil heated up and caused an explosion. Fortunately the firewall contained the fire within the first transformer,” he said.
O’Halloran said City Power is currently restoring the second transformer. “Electricity should be restored in those areas by 9pm today.”
He said the first transformer, which cost about R6 million, will be replaced within the next week.
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