Mooikloof substation to be fully refurbished by December

Refurbishment work at the Mooikloof substation is set to be completed in December, according to MMC for Utilities and Regional Operations, Themba Fosi.

Fosi said the refurbishment work implemented by Tshwane to upgrade the Mooikloof substation and redesign it to meet growing demand is well on track, despite the setback caused by the fire in April.

According to the metro, the substation will be completely redesigned in terms of modern design technology that will also include several safety aspects that did not exist before.

R15-million was injected into the project following the ravaging fire at the station in April.

Ratepayers in Pretoria east had, before the incident, grown tired of power not being restored after load-shedding, the constant trips and overloading as demand grew.

Last year, a legal service in Monument Park wrote several notices to institute legal proceedings against the metro for its failure to upgrade the substation.

Fosi conducted an oversight inspection on the site on Tuesday and was happy with the progress made.

He said the refurbishments would ensure residents have a stable electricity supply.

“The fire which ravaged the station messed with the work progress already made and necessitated an expedition of this project to cover the time lost.”

Fosi said the brand-new substation will help build redundancy to make sure future developments in the area are covered.

“The station will help improve with the constant power trips in this area.”

He added that Tshwane leadership and the regional head have been working hard to make sure capital projects are pushed.

The fire on Transformer B and the 11kV panels at the Mooikloof 132/11kV substation was caused by an explosion.

According to the metro, it was caused by a fault originating from one of the 11kV power lines outside the substation.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the following measures at the substation would be implemented to improve safety:

– introduction of the arc-protection scheme, which was not installed previously, and current switchgear

– installation of an improved version of the switchgear panels (AMV12), where each panel is separate and all the sections (cable, bus bar and breaker section) of the switchgear are compartmentalised

– building firewalls in between switchgear buildings to mitigate any possible fire spread across the buildings.

Mashigo said all substations in Tshwane were designed and built following local and international best practice codes and standards.

He said no electrical equipment is immune to possible fire damage as a result of potential acts of theft, vandalism or malicious damage.

He added that the city has experienced many cable and battery thefts in the past and recently.

“Batteries and control cables are integral pieces of equipment that are required to keep stability and protection of any substation in the world.”

Mashigo said some city infrastructure was ageing rapidly and required regular maintenance and refurbishment.

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