Efforts to restore power supply to Eldorado Park are progressing well after a crew from City Power worked throughout the night, the Johannesburg power utility said on Friday.
The Eldorado Park substation caught fire and exploded on Friday last week, leaving the area without electricity ahead of the Easter weekend. A generator that was brought in as a short-term relief also broke down.
Frustrated about the delays, the Eldorado Park residents barricaded the roads with rocks and burning tyres on Thursday to protest against the slow pace of repairing the damaged substation.
By Friday morning, City Power reported that 70% of the repairs had been completed. The repairs focused on Eldorado Park substation, Orlando switching station, and Nancefield substation.
But City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena warned the residents that the protest could lead to further delays.
“At the Eldorado Park substation, the repairs are nearing completion. The transformer affected by the fault on Wednesday tested clear and it’s good to use and a new transformer has also been brought on site to be on standby,” said Mangena.
City Power further said the five cables stolen at the Nancefield substation had been replaced, enabling the power utility to restore electricity to customers at Nancefield industrial, Olifantsvlei sewerage treatment plant, Kliptown flats, and parts of Eldorado Park.
“We are also working on the transmission line affected by the fault on Wednesday from Orlando substation. This will enable us to connect the line feeding the transformer that was fixed to ready it for a switch-on.
“The work was nearly disrupted when one of our senior technicians on duty was hijacked last night. This highlights the threat under which our technicians and contractors are working.”
Meanwhile, a Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) undercover unit on Thursday arrested eight men for being in possession of stolen copper cables.
“When the members of City Power were called, they identified the cables as belonging to Telkom. The suspects were placed under arrest for possession of stolen property and they were detained at the Jeppe police station,” said JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla.
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