Veld fire sets transformer substation alight

City Power warns against man-made veld fires near its infrastructure and power servitudes after one of their transformer substations in Mondeor caught fire on July 17.

The veld fire caught the roof of the 11kV transformer substation in Ashden Road early on Friday evening, completely destroying the infrastructure and electrical equipment.

This affected power supply to areas including Ashden Road, Cadogan Avenue, Constantia Avenue, parts of Columbine Drive, and the surrounding areas.

Technicians attended to the outage to ensure electricity was restored to the affected customers.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the fire started when the veld fire from nearby bushes caught the roof of the transformer substation.

“Veld fires have the potential to damage the infrastructure including the transformer chambers, wooden poles, mini substations and power lines. Recently most of the outages affecting the 88KV lines were due to the fires in the pylon servitude.

“With the help of Joburg City Parks, we do embark on planned grass cutting operations on our servitudes to ensure we avoid the risk of fires.  “Veld fires have a severe effect on the operation of lines and the quality of electricity supply.”