Low transformer oil levels plunge Boksburg into darkness
South Africa: The affected areas included Comet, part of Boksburg North, Ravenswood, Jansen Park, Witfield, Dayanglen and many areas around the East Rand Mall.
Boksburg
Boksburg, South Africa: The affected areas included Comet, part of Boksburg North, Ravenswood, Jansen Park, Witfield, Dayanglen and many areas around the East Rand Mall.
Although the municipality remains mum on what could have caused the Monday morning major power outage in Boksburg, the Advertiser’s investigation has revealed the apparent cause.
Based on information obtained from well-placed sources, the Monday morning loss of power supply which left parts of Boksburg in the dark and brought the city’s traffic to a standstill was as a result of a transformer failure.
Sources attributed the transformer failure to low transformer oil levels, which raises new questions about regular maintenance of the power utilities to ensure it operates at full capacity.
Ward 22 Clr Ruhan Robinson said based on information he gathered, the power disruption points towards the consequences of failure to do regular maintenance, which include checking the necessary oil levels.
“Initially, I thought the power failure was caused by serious damages to the grid; however, it turned out to be due to a transformer failure which according to officials had low oil levels.
“Regular maintenance would have prevented what we experienced on Monday morning,” he said.
Power was by Monday afternoon restored and fully functional in most of the affected areas, but the metro could not confirm the root cause of the failure.
Source: Boksburg Advertiser