Substation fire: Large parts of Boksburg face power outage of up to seven days
Technicians are working around the clock to restore some of the areas.
Thousands of residents in the northern parts of Boksburg and surrounding areas woke up to no power today (September 20) following a fire that broke out at the Witkoppie substation in the early hours of this morning.
In a statement, municipal spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said due to the extent of the damage some areas will be left without power for about a week, while technicians are working to replace the damaged equipment.
Preliminary investigations indicate that a cable fault downstream may have caused the fire, which then damaged critical electrical components inside the substation.
“Technicians are working around the clock to restore some of the areas with available capacity. At this stage, the anticipated restoration time for Anderbolt, Yaldwyn and Witfield substations is between 19:00 and 20:00 or a bit earlier.
“However, areas that are supplied from the 11 kV board, which include Witkoppie Ridge, Impala Park, Atlasville, Bardene, Beyers Park and surroundings, will take the team up to seven days to replace all affected cables and mini-subs,” explained Dlamini.
Dlamini promised to update residents on the progress made later today.
Residents are advised to treat electrical networks as live at all times.
The city apologised for the inconvenience caused.
Also Read: Metro implements load reduction in Boksburg to stabilise the grid
