Former MMC Utility Services in Tshwane, Themba Fosi, has cried foul at a fire that broke out at the Pyramid substation in the early hours of Wednesday, alleging it was a deliberate act of sabotage.
As a result of the incident, some parts of Rooiwal in the northern part of Tshwane were left without electricity.
Fosi said he conducted an oversight visit in the aftermath of the incident, and discovered that the locks had been forcibly cut and the door was broken.
Most alarmingly, he said, the control panel cables had been cut and the communication system was vandalised.
“This is a blatant act of sabotage. And it is evident that the damage inflicted on the substation was not accidental but a premeditated effort to cause destruction. Such malicious actions directly impact service delivery to our residents and undermine the stability of our city's infrastructure,”he said.
He expressed concern about the potential motive behind the alleged sabotage.
“When substations burn down, there are contractors who stand to gain financially from the subsequent repair and reconstruction work. The political vacuum created by last week's motion of no confidence appears to have signalled to many that Tshwane's coffers are once again open for looting,”he said.
He said he wrote city manager Johann Mettler to request a thorough investigation into this incident.
“It is critical that those responsible are held accountable and that any collusion between contractors and potential saboteurs is fully uncovered,”he said.
Municipal spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the incident tripped the 132kv Line 1 Bellom-Parktown, which caused an outage to the Pretoria North, Wonderboom, Wolmer, Pyramid, Pumulani, Koedoespoort and parts of Waltloo substations.
“The City’s Emergency Services Department was dispatched to the scene and swiftly extinguished the blaze. A team of technicians from the Energy and Electricity Department was also dispatched to the scene and managed to isolate the fault,”he said.
He said all the affected substations have now been switched back, except for the Pyramid substation, which will remain off until the repair work has been completed.
Bokaba said the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
“Currently, only the Rooiwal Sewerage Plant and households around the Pyramid Substation have been affected by the power supply interruption. Our technicians will be working around the clock to ensure that power supply is restored to the affected areas,”he said.
He said the municipality is mindful that customers fed from the substation are experiencing a blackout, promising to keep them informed about progress relating to the repairs.
“The estimated time for restoration will be communicated once the bulk of the repair work has been completed,”he said.
Pretoria News