Substation transformer fire disrupts power supply in Springs

What happened

The City of Ekurhuleni reported a fire at a substation transformer in Springs that caused power outages affecting Bakerton, Payneville, Gugulethu, Slovo Park, Springs CBD, Petersfield, Strubenvale, Casseldale, Nuffield, Edelweiss, Selection Park Ext 2, portions of Daggafontein and Largo. The fire department responded and extinguished the fire. Technicians attended the site to assess damage and network impact. No estimated restoration time was available at the time of the report.

Contributing factors

The city said preliminary investigations linked the outage to a fire involving a transformer at the substation. The cause of the fire was not reported.

Lessons learned

1. A transformer fire at a substation can cut supply across many suburbs before the extent of damage is known.
2. Extinguishing the fire does not by itself restore supply; network assessment still has to follow.
3. Tell affected customers early when an estimated restoration time is not yet available.

Source

citizen.co.za