Residents in Vanderbijlpark’s south-western residential areas may have to wait longer for electricity as technicians continue investigating a damaged underground power cable affecting the supply.
On Monday, 9 November, tests were conducted on the 88kV cable between the Vesco and Unibijl substations were unsuccessful, meaning technicians must first identify the exact fault before permanent repairs can begin.
The publication reported that the repair process could take at least two days, depending on the extent of the damage and the number of faults identified. In an effort to restore electricity sooner, an alternative supply route is also being explored.
According to information cited by Vaalweekblad, a service request has been submitted to Eskom to repair a faulty circuit breaker on the Nicole power line leading to the Frikkie Meyer Substation. Eskom is expected to attend to the work on Tuesday, 10 November.
If the repairs are completed successfully, electricity could potentially be restored to the affected south-western areas by Tuesday evening through the alternative supply arrangement.
However, no definite restoration time has been confirmed, and the proposed solution remains dependent on Eskom successfully completing the repairs.
The outages have affected residents since Saturday, 7 November, adding to concerns about the disruption to households and daily activities. Residents are encouraged to monitor official Emfuleni Local Municipality communication channels for further electricity supply updates.
