Fire at Witkoppie substation disrupts power in northern Boksburg

What happened

A fire broke out at the Witkoppie substation in Boksburg in the early hours of 20 September 2023. The municipality said preliminary investigations indicated that a cable fault downstream may have caused the fire, which then damaged critical electrical components inside the substation. Thousands of residents in northern Boksburg and surrounding areas lost power. Some areas were expected to be without power for about a week. Restoration of Anderbolt, Yaldwyn and Witfield substations was anticipated the same evening, while areas supplied from the 11 kV board, including Witkoppie Ridge, Impala Park, Atlasville, Bardene, Beyers Park and surroundings, were expected to take up to seven days while affected cables and mini-subs were replaced.

Contributing factors

The municipality said preliminary investigations indicated that a cable fault downstream may have caused the fire. That finding was described as preliminary.

Lessons learned

1. A fault on a downstream cable can lead to a fire that damages equipment inside a substation and interrupts supply over a wide area.
2. Restoration planning should separate circuits that can be returned with available capacity from those that need cables and mini-subs replaced.
3. While repairs continue, the public should be told to treat electrical networks as live.

Source

citizen.co.za