Councillor confirms burnt-out RMU at Hawken substation
Residents in Bromhof, Boskruin and Randpark Ridge face an extended power outage after the Hawken substation tripped, with Barbara Street customers facing the longest wait.
A Hawken substation explosion has left residents of Bromhof, Boskruin and surrounding areas without power, with City Power confirming the fault will take several days to repair.
The incident occurred on the evening of June 18, with residents in a community WhatsApp group reporting smoke coming from the substation shortly after 20:30.
Security companies and emergency services responded quickly, with vehicles seen on scene within the hour as residents raised concerns about the smoke and possible fire risk.
Read more: Taps run dry while street leak flows
According to a City Power outage update issued at 21:05, operators were dispatched to investigate the cause of the disruption affecting customers in the area.
By 23:00, the utility confirmed that the Hawken 219 distributor at the Randburg substation had tripped due to blown terminations in the ring main unit. City Power said a dry ice team would be organised the following morning to clean carbon residue from the equipment before repairs could begin.
Ward councillor Devon Steenkamp visited the Hawken switching station on June 19 to assess the situation following reports of an outage affecting parts of Randpark Ridge and Boskruin.
Also read: Wrecked Olivedale road remains closed a week later
“City Power has confirmed that an RMU serving the Barbara Street distributor has burnt out,” said Steenkamp. “As a result, the switching station was temporarily shut down to allow for cleaning and safety inspections.”
Steenkamp said most affected residents could expect their power to be restored once the cleaning process was complete, but warned that one group of customers would face a longer wait.
“Once the cleaning process is completed, City Power will restore supply to all affected customers, except those supplied by the Barbara Street distributor,” he said. “Those customers will remain without power until the damaged RMU has been replaced.”
Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates
The utility apologised for the disruption and thanked residents for their patience.
