Many parts of Pretoria have been without electricity since Monday due to damaged infrastructure.
Acting executive mayor Abel Tau said the damage was caused by the ongoing load shedding implemented by power utility, Eskom.
Eskom implemented load shedding last week and according to Tau that has had a negative impact on substructures providing electricity.
“Our infrastructure is not designed to handle the constant switching on and off of electricity.”
On Tuesday morning a substation in Kwaggasrand, west of Pretoria, caught fire leaving residents without power since around 02:00.
Large parts of the west, central and north of Pretoria were affected.
Tau said the switching on and off of power led to medium voltage faults.
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“The weather conditions this past week have not made it any easier as well as some of the cables are hoisted in wet soil and water and electricity do not go together.”
Tau who is also the MMC for utility services said he has tasked all regional heads of the city to convene joint operation centres where they will identify all the affected areas and what solution was needed.
He said the city’s electricians have been working around the clock to resolve some of the issues, however, the city would seek external assistance.
“Our technicians are working over and beyond the call of duty trying to repair some of the damage done, and we really need to give them credit,” he said.
“After the joint operations feedback will be given to me. I will escalate it accordingly and then we are going to source external capacity to help resolve the issues.”
He said they were hoping to have the matter resolved by the weekend.
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