Wapadrand substation to be fully refurbished end of October
The substation will be completely redesigned in terms of modern design technology that will also include a number of safety aspects that did not exist before.
Multi-million rand massive refurbishments of the troubled Wapadrand substation in Pretoria east are envisaged to be completed by the end of October this year.
The restoration and rehabilitation of the substation are being actioned in a phase of at least three years.
“The contract is awarded for a period of three years. It started on November 1, 2021, and will end on October 31 this year,” said metro spokesman Lindela Mashigo.
In the past few years, the substation has been regularly catching fire and experiencing mechanical breakdowns, leaving several communities in Pretoria east with prolonged power outages.
The first fire broke out back in June 2018, leaving residents without power for over a week and a temporary substation was built.
The latest was when several areas and thousands of Pretoria east ratepayers were plunged into darkness again after a fire at the substation this past week (April 17).
The community were without power for nine days, highlighting the importance of rehabilitating ageing infrastructure.
The power was fully restored on Thursday, April 25 to several areas, including Mooikloof Estate, Parkview Shopping Complex, Woodlands Mall, Woodhill, The Wilds, Pretorius Park extensions, a portion of Moreleta Park and the MK Rural Line.
According to Mashigo, the substation will be completely redesigned in terms of modern design technology that will also include several safety aspects that did not exist before.
Mashigo said the phased repair work entails the following:
– Construction of new substation building to house new 11kV switchgear panels
– Procurement and installation of 11kV switchgear panels
– Procurement and installation of 132kV protection panels
– Procurement of batteries charger
– Procurement of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Communication Panel
– Procurement and installation of control and power cables in between existing transformers and switchgear
Mashigo said the city was looking into improving the protection aspect of the substation through the installation of the ARC-Protection Scheme on the 11kV switchgear panels.
He further said the city is looking at the physical separation of 11kV switchgear panel buildings to prevent possible fire incidents.
The approved tender budget is approximately R117.7-million (excluding VAT).
The city is looking at refurbishing 48 feeder panels per stage which equals 16 panels per stage.
According to him, most fires that had ravaged the substation were a result of electrical faults coming from the secondary network.
“The city is working on improving the protection system to ensure that the faults are isolated within the secondary network before they reach primary substations,” he told Rekord.
He said the following measures at the substation will be implemented to improve safety:
– Introduction of Arc-Protection Scheme, which was not installed on the previous and current switchgear
– Installation of an improved version of the switchgear panels (AMV12) where each panel is separate from the next one and all the sections (cable, bus bar and breaker section) of the switchgear are compartmentalised
– Building firewalls in between switchgear buildings to mitigate any possible fire spread across the buildings.
Mashigo said all substations in Tshwane were designed and built following local and international best practice codes and standards.
Subsequently, there is no electrical equipment that is immune to possible fire damage as a result of potential acts of theft, vandalism or malicious damage, said Mashigo.
He said the city has experienced many cable and battery thefts in the past and recently.
“Batteries and control cables are integral pieces of equipment that are required to keep stability and protection of any substation in the world.”
He said some of the city infrastructures were ageing rapidly and required regular maintenance and refurbishment.
Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink in his recent State of the Capital address on April 18, said the refurbishment of Wapadrand substation panels is scheduled for June.
He emphasised that electricity substations are not meant to burn down.
“According to the most basic of engineering standards, each substation must have protection equipment that shuts down the supply of electricity if a fire risk occurs,” Brink said.
He said he is as frustrated and angry about every substation fire as residents.
“The time when we simply ask for people’s patience and then fix the damage until the next fire happens is over.
“I have told the city manager that every substation fire is to be treated like an extreme exception requiring full investigation,” Brink said.
He said if someone’s negligent or wilful conduct led to the city not taking measures that could have saved millions of rand in repairs, such a person must be held accountable for the damage.
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