The Tshwane metro is yet to give an estimated time for when residents in the east of Pretoria will have power restored after they lost connection in the evening of April 17.
The cause of the mass outage is due to the Mooikloof substation bursting in flames on the evening of April 17, which then triggered a trip at the Nyala station.
According to Tshwane MMC for utilities Themba Fosi, the following areas were still without power by late Thursday afternoon:
– Woodlands Boulevard
– Garsfontein east of Solomon Mahlangu
– Pretorius Park, various extensions, including Woodhill
– Mooikloof Estate and Mooikloof Ridge
– Olympus
– Zwavelpoort
– The Wilds Estate
– Moreleta Park, including Pretoria East Hospital, Woodlands Lifestyle Estate,
Woodhill Lavender Estate
-Park View Shopping Center
-East Side Church and
-School, Moreleta Park Group 7 and various extensions
Fosi said the team was currently on site removing panels and cleaning the substation of debris.
“The roof, panels and all transformers have been burnt,” said Fosi.
When asked about when will power be restored, Fosi stated that it is “too early to determine”.
“Work needs to be at an advanced stage before we can commit ERT, as other items might not be seen before the clean up,” said Fosi.
“Our technical teams are working diligently to investigate the root cause of the fire. Concurrently, relevant equipment is undergoing thorough testing to determine the course of action for power restoration to affected residents. However, due to the ongoing assessment and cleanup efforts, we are unable to provide an estimated time of restoration at this stage.”
Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink said the metro was concerned about leaving residents in the dark and being unable to supply the electricity sooner to affected areas.
“We are not in a position to give a credible time line.”
“Our biggest concern is the Pretoria East Hospital but the MMCs will give updates in due course,” said Brink.
The mayor urged residents to be patient as the team is busy preparing to restore power.
Ward councillor of Ward 101 Malcolm De Kerk said the repairs at the substation were due to begin on Thursday morning.
The fire, which destroyed a 132 kV transformer, started around 23:00 and emergency services put it out at 00:52.
#PowerOutage: PTA East Mooikloof substation has caught fire. Which has triggered a trip at Nyala in-feed station.
This has affected Mooikloof and Wapardrand supply areas.
Our team is investigating, a detailed update will follow pic.twitter.com/JoD8Qgg36f
— City of Tshwane (@CityTshwane) April 18, 2024
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