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Grid infrastructureSouth AfricaEIR-1389

Fire guts substation and cuts power in Lenasia South

Nov 2022Published 28 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

SignificantThermal / fireProvisional
Estimated damageEstimated by the register's adjusterHow? Know the real figure?
Figure hidden: shown to subscribersMedium confidence
supply cut for about •• daysShown in the record →Full estimate
From the recordFailed part hidden
Where
88/11 kV substation supplying Lenasia South, South Africa
Operator
City Power
What
Fire destroyed transformer no. 3 and damaged standby transformer
Cause
Not reported
Outcome
Supply hoped restored Sunday evening or 11 November

Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): City Power

What happened

A fire broke out early on Friday 4 November 2022 at the 88/11 kV substation that supplies Lenasia South. It was reported that the fire started immediately after, or during, load shedding restoration. City Power said the fire destroyed transformer number 3, partly damaged the standby transformer, and completely burnt low-voltage cables and high-voltage line links. Large parts of the suburb lost power. The fire was extinguished, and City Power teams were on site to assess the damage and work on recovery.

Upstream substations at Ennerdale and Hopefield, which had also been affected, were restored. City Power said the preferred plan was to fill the standby transformer with about 40,000 litres of oil, replace low-voltage terminations and complete electrical tests, with power hoped for on Sunday evening. If that failed, the burnt transformer would be removed and a replacement brought in, with restoration then expected on Friday 11 November.

Contributing factors

The fire was reported to have started immediately after or during load shedding restoration. That timing was not confirmed as the cause, and no confirmed cause was stated.

Lessons learned

  1. Switching and restoration after load shedding should include checks of protection, isolation and cable condition before equipment is re-energised.
  2. A usable standby transformer, with oil and cable terminations available, can shorten recovery after loss of a main transformer.
  3. Stating both a preferred restoration time and a fallback date helps customers plan during an extended outage.

More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

  • Cause of the fire
  • Transformer model and age
  • Exact downtime and cost of repairs

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

citizen.co.za

Other entries that name Lenasia

Published 2026-09-28. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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