Mini substations are a vital part of our city’s functionality but one after the other is bursting into flames.
The latest trend kicked off on Sunday, October 14 when the city was blessed with pouring rain, but no electricity.
Merelden substation, Doornpoort substation and Ackerville substation burnt within an hour.
The fire brigade as well as the technical team of the municipality was dispatched to the areas.
The flames were put out and power was restored within approximately a day. On Monday, October 22 two mini-substations were up in flames again.
A mini sub in Stevenson Street were in flames before 08:00 in the morning, while one in Bekker Street was also in a ball of smoke.
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Ms Maureen Scheepers, operations co-ordinator of the SACCW said on Tuesday, October 23 that the fire brigade and the municipality’s technical team were dispatched to the areas once again.
“We attended to the one in Bekker Street and contained the fire with fire extinguishers while we waited for the municipality to arrive, to switch the power off. We evacuated nearby residents from their homes. If the substation had to blow, the damage would be big,” she said.
One of the substations that burst into flames on Monday, October 22.
She added that they closed the road as they waited for the technical team, in case of an explosion.
“The fire brigade extinguished the fire once it was safe,” she concluded.
Mr Kingdom Mabuza, municipal spokesperson said:
“We regularly service our substations. The major challenge we have is the overloading of substations largely because of illegal connections. When a substation is overloaded it results into electricity tripping and in most instances the substations get burnt. It costs the municipality a lot of money to repair substations and it is also a huge inconvenience to paying residents.”
