The Almeida family in Cresslawn experienced 400-volt surge in their home on the afternoon of March 26 at lunchtime until about 8pm.
According to Paul Almeida, the power surge destroyed most of the appliances in their home.
This included TVs, computers, decoders and other electrical appliances which they had not yet calculated the value of.
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Metro spokesperson Themba Gadebe said the cause of the incident that occurred was theft of the neutral bar in a substation.
“Overvoltage is caused by the theft of the neutral conductor resulting in a reconfiguration of the electrical system (deviation from design) causing the voltage to increase from 230 volts to 400 volts,” he explained.
Gadebe pointed out that the perpetrators were to blame for the unfortunate incident, and said the victims could institute a claim.
“The claim will be evaluated by the insurers of the metro based on the information supplied by the claimant and the report of the energy department on the incident. The claimant will be informed of the outcome of the claim in writing.”
