Repair work by City Power to restore the JG Strydom switching substation after it caught fire on Wednesday, March 16 was disrupted by the rain overnight, forcing the technicians to leave the site.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena explained that the heavy rains that flooded the substation made it difficult for work to continue as planned for at least seven hours, and this is expected to delay their estimated restoration time.
However, Mangena confirmed that the technicians were back on site this morning Thursday, March 17, hoping the weather would allow them to continue with the work.
“The rain has also affected some of the equipment which we will dry out this morning. Yesterday the remaining feeder board on site failed the pressure tests, testing down even between the phases due to moisture. The other boards were badly damaged and have been replaced by three Ring Main Units which were brought to site yesterday. Should the remaining board fail the tests again today, we will be forced to abandon it and source three more Ring Main Units. The teams have been ordered to do everything in their power to catch up with the time lost due to the rain, and ensure we still meet our initial deadline. Affected areas such as Weltevreden Park, Randpark Ridge and Allen’s Nek will remain off until the repairs are completed. We apologise to the affected customers,” said Mangena.
