Following the transformer that caught fire at Eikenhof substation on 27 August, City Power has provided an update on the situation.
Isaac Mangena, a City Power spokesperson said that City Power’s engineers and technicians worked throughout the night to fix the problem caused by the transformer that caught fire.
“The cause of the fire is still being determined by City Power investigators.”
He said the substation is run with four transformers, one dedicated to Rand Water Board and another for residential and business customers.
“The transformer that was destroyed in the fire is the one dedicated to Rand Water. However, due to the severity of the fire, the other three transformers were affected with one partially burnt and the overhead line also damaged.”
At #EikenhofPumpStation with CEO of City Power Lerato Setshedi. The Transformer that caught alight is as a result of critical infrastructure being beyond its useful life that we have to replace. Team working around the clock to restore power. @HermanMashaba @CityofJoburgZA pic.twitter.com/kCILNSFTqr
— Nico De Jager (@NicoDeJager64) August 28, 2018
Mangena continued that the residential transformer, which feeds Kibler Park, was tested positively last night and they managed to operate one line and there was partial power restoration, but because of work this morning and for safety reasons they had to switch it off to finish the work.
Nico De Jager, the MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Development said the substation had four transformers. “The one that burnt out is over 40 years old and past its useful life.”
Water tanks
1. Lenmed hospital
2. Lens South hospital clinic
3. Lenasia old age home Nirvana Dr
4. Engen Garage Zakarya Park
5. Tensy street Zakarya Park.
6. Guguletu School Vlakfontein ext 1
7. Lehae primary school, Lehay
8. Tshepo Yarona primary school Vlakfontein ext3. ^NN— Johannesburg Water (@JHBWater) August 28, 2018
He said they did tests and found that two transformers are in working order and they managed to remove the third transformer, (not the one that burnt out) and replace it with a refurbished transformer.
“We started to refurbish transformers at the beginning of the new financial year and that is why we had two spare refurbished transformers.”
De Jager said the refurbished transformer is on site and they would be able to start testing at around 2pm.
@CityofJoburgZA MMC for Infrastructure Cllr @NicoDeJager64 inspecting the #Eikenhof substation that caught fire on Monday, accompanied by City Power CEO Lerato Setshedi. Repairs and tests are currently being done t ensure the speedy restoration of power to the affected areas. pic.twitter.com/LE6WYJs5oS
— @CityPowerJhb (@CityPowerJhb) August 28, 2018
Regarding the widespread water outage, he said that water will only be restored after the system is back online when they will be able to start pumping water into the reservoirs.
“We switched off the reservoirs before they were empty, which will make restoration quicker.”
He commented that the commitment from the technical teams has been amazing and everyone is working together.
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Eikenhof substation fire may cause a ripple of utility outages
