Power is finally being restored to some parts of the Joburg CBD following a massive gas explosion that ripped up Bree Street last week.
As the city centre continues to reel from the aftermath of the incident, City Power said on Tuesday that they have begun restoring electricity to affected residents.
In the wake of the devastating explosion, City Power had to take urgent measures to ensure residents' safety and prevent further damage.
City Power spokesman, Isaac Mangena said electricity to the city centre was immediately switched off while engineers and emergency services worked tirelessly to determine the cause of the explosion and assess the extent of the damage.
City Power finally provided a glimmer of hope for residents affected by the catastrophe as it confirmed that power had been switched on to some residents within the Joburg CBD at approximately 11.40am.
At least 50 percent of the residents’ load feeding from the Bree substation was successfully energised during this effort, the statement said.
Areas that now have power restored include Bank City, Pritchard, west of Loveday, Jeppe, West Street, Diagonal, Sauer, Harrison, President, Simmonds, and the surrounding area west of Bree streets.
Residents in these regions can now rebuild and recover from the traumatic incident.
However, challenges remain as City Power continues its efforts to restore electricity to the entire affected area. Streets east and north of Bree Street, part of President, Jeppe, Kerk, Plein, Loveday, Rissik, Harrison, and Von Brandis streets are still without power.
City Power assured that technicians are diligently working on resolving the issue. They are conducting more tests on other feeders and pressure-testing cables before restoration can occur.
In their statement, City Power conveyed their determination to restore electricity to all affected customers by Tuesday afternoon.
The restoration process has been ongoing since clearance was given by Emergency Services, Disaster Management, and Labour, indicating the magnitude of the effort undertaken to bring back normalcy to the area.
The gas levels in the affected zone have been meticulously monitored. Authorities confirmed that they have now dropped to a safe 1% on the risk matrix, allowing technicians to proceed with the restoration process with increased caution.
One of the crucial challenges faced by City Power was dealing with the collapsed road structure along Bree Street, which disrupted feeder cables.
Encouragingly, initial testing in the morning showed that the feeder cables were clear, paving the way for restoration efforts to continue.
For residents who were still without electricity by Tuesday evening, City Power urged them to log a call for assistance.
The technicians are on standby, ready to attend to any issues.
IOL News