Cable theft exploited weekend outage, delays power return in Brakpan

Emergency repairs to electrical equipment was the reason for a widespread power outage in Brakpan over the weekend.

The power went off at about 17:00 on Friday and was only restored at 14:00 on Saturday. Certain areas, however, remained without electricity or experienced an irregular power supply.

According to CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini, the energy department had to isolate the power supply to the Vulcania substation in order to carry out the repairs.

When asked why no prior warning was issued to residents, Dlamini explained the work was unplanned in order to urgently mitigate the risk of equipment failure.

“Technical non-conformances were picked up during routine inspections and accordingly classified based on the assessed risks.

“The corrective actions to be implemented can either be immediate (unplanned) or extended (planned). In this case, the repairs were high priority and immediate,” he said.

Detailing why it took nearly 21 hours for power to be restored, Dlamini said medium voltage restoration is conducted in a gradual step approach in order to prevent overcurrent faults during switching operations.

“Power was restored to 90% of the area by 14:00 on Saturday, except areas that had experienced external interference such as cable theft or vandalism,” he said.

There were reports that cable thieves took advantage of the outage to dig up cables in Anzac, which Dlamini confirmed.

“There were multiple cable theft incidents in the Anzac area, and repairs had to be conducted first before power restoration,” he said.

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With regards to affected residents reporting ongoing issues or claiming for damages caused by the outage, Dlamini said, “This was an immediate intervention by the department to prevent serious equipment failure and therefore prolonged outages.

“It was a technical force majeure and the decision taken was responsible and based on the likelihood of major equipment failure if nothing was done.

“Claimants can visit any municipal or departmental offices and complete the municipal public liability claim form.

“Service delivery challenges can be reported through the CoE call centre or app and any other official municipality platforms.”

In response to the Brakpan Herald’s question about plans to upgrade Brakpan’s electricity infrastructure to ensure more stability, Dlamini stated the department continually refurbishes and upgrades the electrical infrastructure in parts, taking into consideration the available resources and budget.

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