Meadowdale still in the dark after veld fire damages power cables

Meadowdale, one of the industrial hubs in Ward 92, has been without power for more than two weeks, following damage to the electrical infrastructure in the area.

This comes after a veld fire on the evening of August 23, which reportedly damaged six exposed main feeder cables in the Meadowdale area near the Rietcon Substation.

According to Ward 92 Clr Kade Guerreiro, he received reports of the veld fire and then approximately an hour later reports of power outages in Meadowdale and surrounding areas.

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Other areas that were affected by the outage included parts of Highway Gardens, Harmelia, Buurendal, and Henville.

“Although not impossible, it’s unusual for this area to have a veld fire. It generally doesn’t happen,” said Guerreiro.

He said the damage occurred in what some would call the heart of the illegal mining zone in Meadowdale.
Illegal miners transformed the barren area a few hundred metres from the substation over the years, seeking precious metals and minerals.

Guerreiro said that because of a lack of rehabilitation done by the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE), the cables were left exposed and subsequently damaged by the fire.

“Questions come to mind, such as whether this was done intentionally to steal the cables, or if it was a random veld fire?” asked Guerreiro.

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The energy department and contractors repaired the burnt cables in the early hours of August 26. However, later that afternoon, the cables were still exposed when The News visited the site with Guerreiro.

He said once the cables were repaired, community members found another problem, which directly affected Meadowdale.

Guerreiro said a cable, which had been seemingly cut, was found among illegal mining dig sites.

“I’m not an expert. I’m not sure when this cable was damaged, but the challenge now is that we again sit without power in Meadowdale.

“The repair team managed to switch on the substation, and it was immediately clear that all affected areas had power except Meadowdale.”

Guerreiro believes the damaged cable affecting Meadowdale is one of the six cables that were initially damaged by the fire.

“One of my biggest concerns is the lack of rehabilitation done by the city and that there are power cables literally running through where people are illegally mining,” said Guerreiro.

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With the discovery of the damaged cable, Guerreiro said another repair team needed to be sent for repairs.

He called on the city to rehabilitate the sites in the area to protect the infrastructure.

Recently, Albert Amon and Fleming roads in Meadowdale experienced a 10-hour power outage after faults were detected on the main feeder line to the Rietcon Substation.

Although these faults were repaired and power was restored on August 14, just nine days later, the burnt cables led to more power woes for Meadowdale.

This was further exacerbated by the theft of Eskom’s Croydon 132kV cable, which supplies Germiston North Primary Substation.

According to the CoE, the theft occurred in the early hours of August 28.

Affected areas included Malvern East, Wychwood, Primrose Hill, Dania Park, Simmerfield, Primrose, Dawnview, Fisher Hill, Solheim, Wilbart, Meadowbrook, Meadowdale, Sunnyridge, Sunnyrock, Symhurst, Gerdview, Homestead, Rustavia, Barvallen, Woodmere, Marlands, Primrose East, Germiston East, and Tedstoneville.

ALSO READ: Local community battles with power outages

A request for comment was sent to the CoE on August 27, regarding the six damaged cables and plans for rehabilitation.

At the time of going to print, no comment was received.