A mini-substation that caught fire was the cause of a power outage that affected several households in Ermelo on 21 April.

Mr Mandla Zwane, the spokesman for the Msukaligwa Municipality, said the mini-substation caught fire because of overloading of the network due to illegal connections.

The burnt substation is located near the abattoir.

“Residents of the informal settlement near the abattoir connects electricity illegally,” Mr Zwane said.

The Highvelder asked Mr Zwane what the municipality’s stance was on dealing with illegal connections during the lockdown period and whether electricity was restored to all households that were affected, he, however, did not comment at the time of publishing.

ALSO READ: Eskom anticipates load shedding to start in July

Employees of Msukaligwa Municipality and Ermelo Police station disconnected illegal connections near Emayini (Ermelo Mine Hostel), Wesselton earlier this year on 6 February.

The municipality decided to join forces with Ermelo Police officials to disconnect the illegal connections.

In the meantime, Eskom is anticipating load shedding to start in July.

Eskom believes maintenance carried out over the past three weeks has placed the power utility in a good space to cope with demand post the lockdown.

Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said although he could not guarantee that there will be no load shedding, the possibility of it a few weeks after the lockdown was low.

“Of course all of this is dependent on the demand profile after the lockdown is lifted. There is, however, a moderate possibility of load shedding for a few days during July,” Mantshantsha said.

He said the lockdown bought Eskom time to undergo maintenance to bring stability to the power supply.

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