Major power outage hits downtown Johannesburg
Businesses and residents in large parts of the Johannesburg
CBD may have to face an electricity outage for the rest of the week.
City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, says it is now feared that the Van Beek oil-filled feeder cable that was damaged yesterday by a third party contractor, will only be restored on Saturday.
These include suburbs of Doornfontein, Troyville, Jeppestown, and Kazerne
“The damage done on the cable by a fibre optic company is approximately 20 meters long and it runs across the street. Where the incident happened is right in the corner which is an awkward space for City Power technicians to work in.”
Mangena says it will take four days just to get a new oil-filled cable up and running again.
“The reason for this is that oil-filled cables need to be moisture-tested, tested for leaks, tested for carbon content and if there is moisture and other unwanted material they have to be removed. The cable also needs to be pressure tested.”
According to Mangena, the situation has been worsened by the construction of third party contractor.
City Power technicians started with the repairs on the cable on Monday night.
The rest of the station where the cable feeds from, will remain off while repairs are continuing.