Sol investigating sub-station explosion

SOL PLAATJE Municipality is investigating the cause of an explosion that occurred at the Hadison Park sub-station in Kimberley on Sunday night, which left many areas without electricity. Additionally, the water supply in large sections of the city was interrupted, possibly due to the incident.

The police were on the scene while the fire brigade contained the fire.

Emergency services responded promptly on Sunday night, with the police securing the area and the fire brigade containing the fire. Electricians worked on the sub-station until the early hours of Monday morning, while alternative measures were taken to restore the electricity supply.

Sol Plaatje Municipality spokesperson Thabo Mothibi said the power was interrupted after 8pm and was restored at around 1.30am.

“The areas that were affected included Hadison Park, New Park, Royldene, Rhodesdene, parts of Carter's Glen, Hillcrest, El Toro Park, Heuwelsig and Lindene. The outage was due to a faulty 66-kilovolt current transformer. We are still investigating the cause of the explosion,” said Mothibi.

He also indicated that the water supply disruptions may be linked to the power outage.

Residents still experiencing electricity issues have been advised to report faults to the municipal call centre at 080 122 9010 or 053 830 6111 for assistance with any isolated problems.

Mothibi added that the power supply in Greater Number 2 and Tlhageng would be interrupted on Monday afternoon to replace the pole transformer in Nxumalo Street. This follows the shutdown of a 66/11-kilovolt transformer at the Galeshewe sub-station for safety reasons while work was being carried out.

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