A blackout occurred in Forest Hill as a result of a substation fire

A blackout occurred in Forest Hill as a result of a substation fire. On May 9, a fire broke out at the Leonard Street substation, causing power outages for most of Forest Hill and delays for learners and residents. Witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from the vandalised substation around 5:30 pm due to a blown transformer.

The principal of Forrest High School, Shaffy Steven, expressed the difficulties they faced due to the power outage, which caused delays for the school. Despite contacting City Power, who promised to fix the problem overnight, they were unable to do so. As a result, they had to go to neighbouring schools to make copies due to the substation’s burst.

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Some community members who were affected by the outage reported experiencing load-shedding. The power was restored around 2 pm but went off again shortly after. The community filed a complaint with City Power before the fire at the substation began. An unidentified person claiming to be from City Power arrived in a bakkie without a card or uniform and checked the site before leaving without communicating with anyone.

According to the spokesperson of City Power, Isaac Mangena, a chamber in the substation caught fire after load-shedding caused the outage. As a result, city Power advised customers to switch off all appliances, particularly geysers and pool pumps, during load-shedding, to avoid overloading when power has to be restored, which delays full supply restorations. He also noted that customers should use electricity sparingly during the higher stages of load-shedding since teams cannot locate faults, conduct tests, and perform repairs.

Source: Substation fire causes blackout in Forest Hill

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Photo: Facebook / @City Power Johannesburg – Official_Page