City of Ekurhuleni announced at 16h13 that the 66kV oil filled cable that supplies power to the Kempton Park area has failed.  

Also read: Kempton residents FED-UP with power outages

“The 66kV network provides power to five major substations including Cargo (66/11)kV (supplying the airport), Aston Manor (66/11)kV, Glen Marais (66/11)kV, Van Reebeck Park (66/11)kV, Spartan (66/11)kV (industrial load) and main supply (66/11)kV,” said CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.  

“The 66kV network infrastructure uses oil-insulated technology, which has aged over the years and has become susceptible to frequent failure. The equipment and parts for this type of infrastructure is difficult to source and there are a limited number of service providers with the expertise to rectify such faults.    

“As remedial action to these frequent power outages, an estimated 20km of oil filled cables will be replaced over three financial years at an estimated cost of over R200-million,” Dlamini said.    

“CoE will be announcing plans to improve the efficiency of communication to residents regarding service delivery incidents and updating customers on how we are resolving the issues. Power is now restored in 90% of the area using an alternative step down transformer while repairs to the cables are being done.”