Electric box blows up in Newlands
Residents were shocked when an electric box blew up on 16 July.
According to Angie van Deventer, she heard a loud bang sound and saw an electrical box near her home in flames.
“Flames were gushing out of the box, I saw three children playing very close to the box. I have been living here for more than twenty years, but nothing like this has happened before.” Van Deventer said she called City Power and was put on hold for 20 minutes, no one bothered to take her particulars and contact details.
Minutes later a City Power sub-contractor arrived, but had no equipment to extinguish the fire on the corner of 10 Street and Du Preez Road. One of the contractors allegedly said the box was overloaded and this might be the problem. While trying to put the fire out, a worker’s face allegedly caught alight.
“After the contactors failed to extinguish the fire they left. No one from City Power has since been back to the scene to check what the problem was. Children could have been hurt and it is unacceptable that residents have to go out of their way to get help when no one else bothers.” City Power spokesperson Sydney Mphahlele said a contractor attended to a complaint, when he arrived he found that low voltage cables and a fuse were burnt in a mini substation. According to Mphahlele, a decision was taken to replace the load centre. Three emergency mobile generators have been connected to ensure that affected customers get a power supply while the replacement process is in progress.
