Voltage transformer fire takes Lynnwood substation offline in Tshwane
Dec 2022Published 31 Oct 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
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What happened
A voltage transformer at the Lynnwood primary substation in Tshwane, South Africa, caught fire on a Thursday night, causing the facility to go offline. Safety systems isolated the rest of the substation from further damage, and firefighters extinguished the blaze. Electricity teams worked until the early hours of the Friday, first isolating the damaged voltage transformer and then carrying out technical cleaning to prepare the substation for re-energising. Power was restored to residents at about 2.49am on the Friday. The source does not give the cause of the fire.
Contributing factors
The source does not state the cause of the transformer fire.
Lessons learned
- Safety systems isolated the rest of the substation from the faulted transformer, limiting further damage.
- Isolating the damaged unit before cleaning and re-energising allowed power to be restored in the early hours after the fire.
- Operators should record the cause of transformer fires in their incident notes so that the cause can be confirmed and fed into maintenance.
More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, from every incident on the register.
Source
Other entries that name Lynnwood
Published 2026-10-31. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
