Fire at Allandale substation an isolated incident, says Eskom manager

Several areas around Midrand, Thembisa and Ivory Park were without power as a result of the blaze.

An Eskom manager in Gauteng insists that the fire broke out at the Allandale substation on Wednesday was an isolated event.

Daphne Mokwena maintains that such incidents are not regular occurrences, despite a separate explosion that took place at the same substation in January this year.

It's an isolated issue.

Daphne Mokwena, Senior manager - Eskom’s Gauteng Operating Unit

Mokwena says that Eskom technicians are investigating the cause of the fire and want to rule out any interference by surrounding informal settlments.

Several areas around Midrand, Thembisa and Ivory Park were without power as a result of the blaze.

We lost a 20 MVA power transformer due to an explosion of a current transformer. We still need to investigate.

Daphne Mokwena, Senior manager - Eskom’s Gauteng Operating Unit

Read also: Gauteng water supply affected in some areas due to load shedding

Mokwena adds that other power outages in Randpark Ridge must be attributed to City Power.

Meanwhile, the City of Johannesburg says it is aware of the challenges and is working to resolve them.

RANDBURG power update: I wish to inform residents that @CityPowerJhb is aware of prolonged outages in Randburg and surrounding areas - @NicoDeJager64 ^NS pic.twitter.com/CJyRqvlHpl

— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) March 20, 2019

Vanderbijlpark was also without power last week after an explosion at a substation in Emfuleni.

Eskom has been struggling to keep the lights on and has implemented stage 4 load shedding as it tries to manage demand.

Listen for more on Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa:

More from Local