The mass power outage in the Florida area following a fire at the switching station on the corner of Fieldhouse Street and Second Avenue on Wednesday morning, 4 March has still not been fully restored.
Residents in the affected areas around Florida CBD including 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Avenue, The Highway, Fieldhouse Street, Church Street, Goldman Street, Plaza Road, Oliver Street and surrounds are fuming because of the unexpected power outage.
On Wednesday afternoon City Power issued a press release, stating that the cause of the fire in the switching substation was still unclear, but that vandalism was suspected. They also stated that the damage to the substation was quite extensive and that a contractor had been appointed by City Power to restore the power supply.
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Restoration time given by City Power regarding the Mass Florida outage
City Power stated that they expected restoration to be completed by Thursday morning, 5 March. After repairs to the substation were 20 per cent completed, it was discovered that on the 80 per cent remaining, there were multiple cable faults that had to be repaired before power to the area could be restored.
“The necessary resources and materials are being organised to fix the cables. It is suspected that these cables were damaged due to the spike in electricity caused by the fire yesterday,” commented City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena.
At 9.30am this morning, Thursday, 5 March, an update on their Twitter page read, “Technicians have managed to restore about 90 per cent of supply. The prolonged outage is caused by cable fault. Currently, Suparocla distributor remains off, which makes the shortfall [that] of 10 per cent that is to be restored. We apologise for inconveniences caused.”
They were still not able to give an estimated time of restoration.
Residents are advised to follow the entity’s Twitter account (@CityPowerJHB) for any updates on the issue.
