South Africa
Eskom yet to assess damage caused by fire at Balfour Substation─── 06:53 Mon, 23 Dec 2019
Eskom said technicians would assess the extent of the damage caused by a fire that burned a substation in Balfour, Mpumalanga.
The substation, which contains three transformers, caught fire after being struck by lightning on Sunday following an error in the system.
Two of the three transformers were shut down for protection but they could have been affected by the fire.
The substation, which is a distribution unit, has resulted in electricity supply to Dipaleseng Municipality and more than 5,000 Eskom customers being affected.
Eskom's general manager Phil Khumalo said the restoration period for the substation would depend on the damage.
“Once we know what the damage is and whether it includes the second and the third transformer, then we can ascertain the value of the damage. We will also be able to ascertain the restoration period because if the three transformers are affected then the restoration period might be longer.”
