Power restoration anticipated for Sunday in parts of the north
Crews are currently replacing burnt infrastructure, re-energising circuits, and conducting safety tests before reconnecting each affected area.
Residents who have been without power since Thursday in the north of Pretoria can expect to be reconnected by Sunday evening.
This is according to officials of the Tshwane metro, who are in a bid to restore power after a widespread outage caused by vandalism and cable theft at the Theresa Park Secondary Substation.
According to Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba, technicians are working around the clock to restore electricity, with most affected areas expected to be reconnected by Sunday evening.
The sabotage, which occurred on May 1, caused a fire inside the substation, damaging a 240mm power cable and a T4 switching component.
This led to an immediate blackout in the supply zone, impacting both residential and business communities.
“The team’s commitment to promptly restore power supply to the affected areas notwithstanding, the extent of the damage and the complexity of the repairs to be effected have resulted in a prolonged power supply interruption.
“This, regrettably, means it will take a few days before full restoration can be achieved,” said Bokaba.
Crews are currently replacing burnt infrastructure, re-energising circuits, and conducting safety tests before reconnecting each affected area.
The following areas remain without power:
– Heatherdale
– Clarina
– Theresa Park
– Nina Park
– Eldorette
– Pretoria North
– Florauna
– Dorandia
– Tileba
The metro has apologised for the extended outage and is urging residents to remain patient while the infrastructure is restored.
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Community leader Dana Wannenburg previously mentioned that in Clarina, a mini-substation was completely burned out, and it will either need to be repaired or fully replaced.
“Unfortunately, there has been no change in the power outage situation. Many areas, including Montana, Sinoville, Doornpoort, and Annlin, remain without electricity.
“We are still waiting for official feedback from the technical teams and electricity management in Tshwane. There is growing concern that there may be deliberate delays in addressing these widespread outages,” said Wannenburg.
He said he waited at the Theresapark Substation, but no technical team had arrived.
“The lack of communication and progress is unacceptable.”
The cause of the fire has been linked to cable theft, a persistent issue in the metro.
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