Johannesburg - City Power says it has confirmed the restoration of power in the Joburg CBD following last week’s gas explosion, which saw power outages in some parts of the city centre.
Earlier this week, Joburg City manager Floyd Brink confirmed that power outages had affected at least 2 800 households and businesses following the blast, which also affected traffic on Lilian Ngoyi Street (formerly Bree Street) and other parts of the CBD.
The restoration of electricity was preceded by an announcement by the municipal power utility that it was ready to kick-start the restoration of power on Tuesday morning.
City Power said it had to take urgent measures to ensure residents’ safety and prevent further damage.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said electricity to the city centre was immediately switched off while engineers and emergency services worked tirelessly to determine the cause of the explosion and assess the extent of the damage.
Residents and businesses had been without electricity and water since an underground gas explosion ripped open an extensive strip of Lilian Ngoyi Street near the Bree taxi rank, which resulted in the death of one person and injuries to at least 48 others.
“At least 100% of resident load feeding from Bree sub-station was energised earlier today (Tuesday) at 2.20pm. The team worked hard overnight after clearance was given by the emergency services, disaster management, and labour. The gas levels were also cleared at 1% of the risk matrix.”
“We have also restored feeder cables under the collapsed road structure along Bree Street, with the whole street currently lit,” Mangena said.
However, Mangena indicated there are still customers who might still be without power. For those, he said they should get in touch with the utility. This is as City Power continues its efforts to restore electricity to the entire affected area.
It was reported that streets east and north of Lilian Ngoyi Street, including President, Jeppe, Kerk, Plein, Loveday, Rissik, Harrison, and Von Brandis streets, were still without power.
Mangena said technicians are diligently working on resolving the issue. They are conducting more tests on other feeders and pressure-testing cables before restoration can occur.
The Star