The cause of the bang was an explosion and building collapse at the Elsburg Substation in Ostend Road.<\/p>\n
The affected areas included, but were not limited to, Delville, Collin Wade, the industrial area of Germiston South, Parkhill Gardens, Tedstoneville, industrial areas fed from Enterprise, and parts of Hazeldene, Germiston South, Elsburg and the Germiston CBD.<\/p>
The GCN visited the scene and spoke to Ekurhuleni chief area engineer Peter Khunou who explained an investigation had been launched to discover the cause of the explosion.<\/p>\n
ALSO READ:\u00a0Elsburg Substation explosion and building collapse leads to power outage<\/a><\/h4>\n\u201cWe are not sure when exactly the explosion happened or what the cause was,\u201d Khunou said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are hoping to have more answers soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
The metro first estimated that power would be restored by 9am on Wednesday, however, this deadline came and went.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeams from the metro were called to the scene and worked throughout the day to remove the debris and the roof of the damaged building so that technicians could begin testing the equipment still on site,\u201d explained Ward 39 councillor Alta de Beer, who visited the site several times.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring testing it was discovered that the existing equipment was beyond repair and new equipment had to be sourced, leading to delays.<\/p>\n
\u201cReplacement equipment was delivered to the site on Wednesday morning but installation and commissioning of the new equipment took hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
ALSO READ:\u00a0Update \u2013 Power restoration delayed at Elsburg Substation, as new equipment is sourced<\/a><\/h4>\nThe team continued to work through the night with the deadline for restoration being pushed further and further back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team on site began switching power back on slowly from 6.30am on Thursday morning,\u201d de Beer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe power had to be turned on gradually so as not to overload the new equipment and to allow the DC batteries on site time to charge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey simply could not switch everything on at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The repairs were delayed further when further testing had to be carried out.<\/p>\n
\u201cTesting had to be done on Thursday afternoon to establish the network\u2019s integrity as there was an alleged attempted cable theft while the power was off,\u201d said de Beer.<\/p>\n
Suburbs finally came back online at 9pm on Thursday night, with the exception of Delville\u2019s industrial area.<\/p>\n
\u201cPower supply has been reinstated to all affected areas, except for Delville industrial area, but metro technicians are attending to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe stability of the grid has improved following the installation of new equipment at the station,\u201d Themba Gadebe, spokesperson for the metro, said.<\/p>\n
The power to the\u00a0Delville industrial area has since been restored.<\/p>\n
Despite numerous requests from the GCN to the metro as to the cause of the explosion, no comment was received at the time of going to press.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2018\/10\/42GCNMUNICIPALLI_58429-520x390.jpg\")
Ward 39 councillor Alta de Beer visited the Elsburg Substation in Ostend Road several times with the aim of providing updates to the community on the technicians\u2019 progress.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nCommunity speak out following days without power:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Pamela Brandon-Kieser: \u201cI have to lose a day\u2019s pay because of this incompetence; my fridges have defrosted and I will most likely have to replace everything in them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cMy question now is who will compensate us for the money that we are paying, if you put in a claim and they take months to sort it out. I know it wasn\u2019t anyone\u2019s fault, but for goodness sake, this should have been sorted out quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n- Zaine Bouwer: \u201cIt is now 12 hours after the 8pm deadline, and still no power. What is the new time now again? Just lies.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Louis and Petro Snyman: \u201cIt is nearly 8am on Thursday and the power is still not restored. Who is going to pay for the meat in our fridge? We need answers.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Hav<\/strong>e a story?<\/strong><\/p>\nContact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor)\u00a0<\/span>germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>or Leigh Hodgson (News Editor)\u00a0<\/span>leighh@caxton.co.za<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>or Kgotsofalang Mashilo (journalist)\u00a0kgotsofalangm@caxton.co.za<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nRemember to visit the Germiston City News on the following social media platforms:<\/p>\n
Facebook<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nTwitter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nInstagram<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nYouTube<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nOr add the GCN on\u00a0<\/b><\/span>WhatsApp 079 406 1181<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0BBM (BBM Pin: 7F102137)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/b><\/span>today, to get all the latest news.<\/p>\nCatch-up on more local news with our sister newspapers\u00a0<\/span>Bedfordview Edenvale News<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span>Alberton Record<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Kempton Express<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n
The team continued to work through the night with the deadline for restoration being pushed further and further back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team on site began switching power back on slowly from 6.30am on Thursday morning,\u201d de Beer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe power had to be turned on gradually so as not to overload the new equipment and to allow the DC batteries on site time to charge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey simply could not switch everything on at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The repairs were delayed further when further testing had to be carried out.<\/p>\n
\u201cTesting had to be done on Thursday afternoon to establish the network\u2019s integrity as there was an alleged attempted cable theft while the power was off,\u201d said de Beer.<\/p>\n
Suburbs finally came back online at 9pm on Thursday night, with the exception of Delville\u2019s industrial area.<\/p>\n
\u201cPower supply has been reinstated to all affected areas, except for Delville industrial area, but metro technicians are attending to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe stability of the grid has improved following the installation of new equipment at the station,\u201d Themba Gadebe, spokesperson for the metro, said.<\/p>\n
The power to the\u00a0Delville industrial area has since been restored.<\/p>\n
Despite numerous requests from the GCN to the metro as to the cause of the explosion, no comment was received at the time of going to press.<\/p>\n Community speak out following days without power:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMy question now is who will compensate us for the money that we are paying, if you put in a claim and they take months to sort it out. I know it wasn\u2019t anyone\u2019s fault, but for goodness sake, this should have been sorted out quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n Hav<\/strong>e a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor)\u00a0<\/span>germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>or Leigh Hodgson (News Editor)\u00a0<\/span>leighh@caxton.co.za<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>or Kgotsofalang Mashilo (journalist)\u00a0kgotsofalangm@caxton.co.za<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Remember to visit the Germiston City News on the following social media platforms:<\/p>\n Facebook<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Twitter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Instagram<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n YouTube<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Or add the GCN on\u00a0<\/b><\/span>WhatsApp 079 406 1181<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0BBM (BBM Pin: 7F102137)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/b><\/span>today, to get all the latest news.<\/p>\n Catch-up on more local news with our sister newspapers\u00a0<\/span>Bedfordview Edenvale News<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span>Alberton Record<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Kempton Express<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n
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