Transformer explosion and fire reported at Ebden Street substation in Komani
June 2018Published 25 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Ebden Street substation in Komani
- What
- Transformer exploded and substation caught fire
- Response
- Municipal firefighters attended and tried to put the blaze out
- Cause
- Under investigation
- Outcome
- Residents likely without electricity for more than three days
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Enoch Mgijima municipality
What happened
On 12 June 2018, the Daily Dispatch reported that a substation in Ebden Street, Komani, had blown that morning and that the Komani power station had caught fire. Municipal firefighters attended and tried to put the blaze out. An engineer at the scene said a transformer had exploded after an attempt to switch on the Queendustria substation, which had tripped earlier. A spokesman for Enoch Mgijima municipality said the circuit breaker had tripped because of power overloading, and that electricians were investigating.
Residents were reported as likely to be without electricity for more than three days. The confirmed length of the outage and the outcome of the investigation were not reported.
Contributing factors
The municipality said the circuit breaker tripped because of overloading. Separately, an engineer said the transformer exploded after an attempt to switch the tripped Queendustria substation back on. The report does not confirm a single root cause.
Lessons learned
- Check the reason a circuit breaker has tripped, such as overload, before any attempt to re-energise.
- Stop and investigate after a failed re-energising attempt rather than repeat the switch-on operation.
- Tell customers promptly when a substation fire may cause an outage lasting several days.
More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, investigation and fleet-wide checks, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Confirmed length of the outage
- Outcome of the investigation
- Root cause of the transformer explosion
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Other entries that name Komani
Published 2026-09-25. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
