Power back on in parts of Benoni after substation fire
The Ekurhuleni municipality says it has begun restoring power to parts of Benoni after a fire at a substation in the suburb and cable theft in Randburg caused a massive electricity outage.
"Small portions of Rynfield and Crystal Park, Northmead and Morehill now have power, including Rynpark 1 - which houses the frail care unit for the other extensions of the old age home," the municipality said.
"Other areas such as Lilyvale and Putfontein are expected to have power restored once arrangements to feed them from an alternative substation have been made."
However, it said Chief Albert Luthuli Park, Cloverdene and the larger parts of Rynfield and Crystal Park were still off and were expected to be until Saturday.
"Technicians are working to restore power to these areas by tomorrow."
The metro said once power was restored, it advised residents to keep their geysers off to avoid overloading the network and to ensure that there was enough capacity to supply all of the areas.
"Currently, tests to assess the fitness of the second undamaged transformer at the main Rynfield substation are continuing. Once completed, arrangements will be made to feed the affected areas from this transformer."
A massive power outage hit parts of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni at around 5am on Friday.
City Power blamed cable theft in the Randburg area and the fire in Benoni.
As a result, traffic lights were out of order, causing long delays along major routes including Beyers Naude, William Nicol Drive, Republic Road and Malibongwe Road.
City Power said the outage in the greater Randburg area affected nearby suburbs, including Weltervredenpark, Allens Nek, Bromhof, Randpark Ridge, Wilgeheuwel and Honeydew.
ANA
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