The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) has begun the procurement of generators, to power up the City, as strong winds collapsed infrastructure on Thursday.
Sithembiso Soyaya, Spokesperson of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality said on Saturday, the electricity network is facing significant disruptions, due to the collapse of four 132 kV overhead transmission towers.
These towers, form part of the network from Chelsea Substation and supply power to Arlington Substation and Summerstrand Substation through shared double-circuit steel lattice structures.
Areas affected are Summerstrand, EP Command, Forest Hill, Humewood, South End, Arlington, Lovemore Park, Miramar, Pari Park, Providentia,
Schoenmakerskop, Walmer, Walmer Location, Walmer Industrial and other surrounding areas.
Steps taken by the NMBM to address power outages, include the relocation of a 10MVA transformer, from Kwaford Substation to South End substation, to restore a significant portion of the affected areas by Tuesday, the 27th August 2024.
Soyaya said the load initially connected to Kwaford Substation has been transferred to Matomela Substation.
“This transfer will allow the transformer to be disconnected from Kwaford Substation on 24 August 2024.
After the transformer is connected at South End substation, a load-reduction
schedule will be implemented to ensure that all customers have power supply and prevent the transformer from being overloaded.”
Picture of transformers on bended knees, NMBM.