Wapadrand sub-station fire leaves large parts of Pretoria in the dark
The metro has urged residents to be patient as the extend of the damage was being determined
A fire at the Wapadrand sub-station which broke out on Saturday night, has left large parts of Pretoria without power.
The following areas have been affected: Silver Lakes, Zwavelpooort, Lombardi, Tiepoort, Wapadrand, Donkerhoek, Equestria, Faerie Glen, Olympus and Boardwalk.
The Tshwane metro issued an update on Sunday morning.
Tshwane MMC responsible for energy and electricity, water and sanitation, and regional operations and co-ordination Phillip Nel said the metro was alerted to the fire at 20:45.
Nel said a small portion of the Wapadrand sub-station control system caught fire and the metro’s engineers were still busy with investigations into the cause.
“The fire has been put out and repair of the sub-station is already underway. I am meeting with the technical team on site this morning, to get more details on the technical assessment and plan for repair,” Nel said.
He said the team was currently working on cleaning the site, “so it is ready for repair and replacement of the damaged equipment”.
Nel said the estimated restoration time would be confirmed later today, after the detailed technical assessment.
“The communications team will provide updates on this issue throughout the day and I will personally be working with Dr Frans Manganye, the acting group head of the energy and electricity department and his team, to ensure this issue gets resolved as swiftly as possible,” Nel said.
“Please be patient as our team determines the extent of the damage, and we will communicate more information as it becomes available.”
DA ward 1 councillor Elma Nel reported on Sunday morning that Capital Park, Hermanstad, Hercules, Mamelodi, Waltloo, Pumulani, Rooiwal and Koedoespoort were also affected.
She said the metro was aware of a 132kV outage affecting large areas of the city.
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