Johannesburg - Eskom has confirmed that a fire broke out on unit 2 of the Duvha power station in Mpumalanga on Monday.
This comes after the Glen Harvie substation was vandalized on Sunday, leaving many Rand West Municipality customers without power over the weekend.
The fire at Duvha unit 2 was quickly extinguished and no injuries have been reported.
The reason for the fire and the extent of the damage caused to the unit which has been offline for a general overhaul is still being investigated by Eskom.
Meanwhile, Eskom suffered another blow when the Glen Harvie substation which supplies power to the Rand West Municipality in Randfontein was vandalised compromising the capacity of power distribution at the weekend.
Eskom Gauteng spokesperson Amanda Qithi said: “The substation protections, telecommunication equipment as well as the cables were vandalised creating a major risk to the security of supply. Vandalism of this substation compromised the integrity and reliability of distribution of electricity. The damages to the substation are extensive and require replacement of some of the equipment, as a result we are unable to give an estimated time of restoration.”
Eskom was hard at work with the local municipality during the weekend trying to restore the power to all the municipality’s customers but only managed to restore power to some on Saturday while efforts continued on Sunday and although alternate solutions have been made for power supply, one area still remains without power.“
Qithi said: “The mine has agreed to temporarily supply all customers that are supplied from Glen Harvie. There is only one area that is still off due to cable theft.”
Qithi added: “We will continue to work with Rand West Local Municipality and communicate as more information becomes available on the repairs and restoration of supply. Rand west customers are advised to contact the municipality directly for all their electricity-related enquiries.”
Members of the public were also encouraged to report illegal electricity-related related activities to the law enforcement agencies or to the Eskom Crime Line: 0800 112 722.
IOL