Restoration of power in East to be done in phases
Residents have been in the dark following a fire that broke out at the Wapadrand substation on Saturday.
Residents in the east of Pretoria are urged to turn off any high-energy appliances as technicians prepare to switch the electricity back on.
This comes after a fire engulfed the Wapadrand power station, leaving areas such Wapadrand, Equestria, Faerie Glen, Fountains, Tygerpoort and Zwavelpoort without any power.
Utility services MMC Philip Nel said equipment such as panels and cables were affected by the fire.
Electricians have been on site, making repairs to restore electricity to the areas.
“In the next three hours, the whole system will be pressure tested and then given over to the local regional teams to energise the individual circuits restoring electricity,” Nel said.
“The cleaning of the panels in the substation has taken longer than the time estimated by our subcontractor. Every time they tested, they found further spots that needed additional cleaning, which has delayed the repairs.”
Nel said the cleaning of panels would be concluded shortly.
The good news was that cables which could be fixed have been tested and no faults were detected.
“This means we continue to expect that energising can take place during this afternoon for the suburbs of Wapadrand, Equestria, Silverlakes, Six Fountains, Tygerpoort and Zwavelpoort.
“It will be done in phases. I again urge all residents to switch off all high-energy appliances, to prevent further trips as we re-energise the system.”
Appliances may only be switched back on once residents have confirmed supply to their areas has stabilised.
Nel advised that residents leave their lights on. After 20-30 minutes of the lights staying on, they may proceed to turn on main appliances.
In July of 2018, the substation was damaged after a fire completely destroyed equipment, leading to technicians working days on end in an attempt to restore power.
Nel said the cost of the current fire was not yet known.
“We will provide detail on the repair for Faerie Glen, Olympus and Boardwalk this evening,” he said.
“We will do a further update around 18:00, but the councillors will be back on site as soon as we know the energising has commenced.”
With regards to the tender for the upgrade of the Wapadrand substation, Nel said the specification was ready and the tender was going out for advertising now sometime this month.
“Our estimate is that it will take 18 months for the substation rebuild to be fully completed once the tender is awarded,” he said.
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