Vanderbijl left ‘powerless’ after fire at substation

There is still no confirmation on what caused the fire and explosion of the transformer at the substation in NW7 this afternoon.

The whole of Vanderbijlpark was left without electricity since around 14:25. Around 16:00 most of the suburbs’ electricity was restored.

It has been however reported that the transformer that burned was a standby transformer, not currently feeding any areas. The power loss was due to the mains which tripped due to the fire. After the substation has been made safe, it will be assessed, but it is not expected that the majority of the the town and suburbs will remain without power too long.