Parts of the city remain without power due to ongoing repairs and challenges at Brakfontein substation
Not all of the power has been restored in parts of Centurion, where some residents have been without electricity for more than 11 days.
Lindela Mashigo, city of Tshwane spokesperson, said technicians were almost at the final stages of their repair work at Brakfontein substation, which was damaged by fire on 3 April.
“For now, some areas have been energised from the substation while the team repairs the downstream network before power can be restored to other residents,” Mashigo said.
‘Working around the clock’
“The team is continuing to work around the clock to restore power, despite facing significant challenges due to the severity of the damage caused to the equipment, which was custom-made for the substation,” he added.
Mashigo said five of the eight panels on the southern board had passed the rigorous equipment tests by the team as part of the commissioning process.
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“The team is now attending to the three panels that failed the tests to address the faults on the network. Unfortunately, the team is unable to energise the five panels that are ready, as work is continuing on the other three panels, meaning the entire network must be off during repairs.”
Theft delaying restoration
Mashigo said simultaneously, the team was faced with challenges of theft which was complicating the restoration efforts.
Rooihuiskraal North resident, Jannie Bezuidenhout, who was without power for 10 days, said: “The aftermath of the Brakfontein substation fire was chaos – waking up at 3.30am to shower at friends’ houses, asthma attacks from generator fumes and compromised home security left us vulnerable and anxious.”
A municipal worker who agreed to speak anonymously said residents had to get used to the slow service because it was going to get worse.
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