Steve Tshwete Local Municipality held an impromptu media briefing on Wednesday, realizing that residents needed answers.

The Gholfsig substation caught fire on Monday afternoon, plunging the whole of Middelburg into a blackout. While electricity was restored to parts of Middelburg via the Verdoorn and Sipres substations, areas like Gholfsig, Mhluzi, Groenkol, Clubville, Mineralia, Middelburg Suid and parts of Aerorand still has no electricity since Monday.

Also read: Severe damages at Gholfsig substation leaves residents without power

Municipal Manager, Mr Bheki Khenyisa, announced that STLM can still not give an accurate estimation of when these areas will receive electricity.

The switching station was significantly damaged, with some of its parts needing full replacement. Two municipal electrical department and two contractors, Columbus and Eskom, are working around the clock to fix the problem.

Also read: Middelburg faces blackout after substation catches fire

STLM extended an apology to all residents, assuring them that restoring electricity as soon as possible remains top priority.

The municipality has vowed to give daily updates on progress.

• Much more details revealed in this week’s edition of the Middelburg Observer.