Fire and breakdown-prone Wapadrand substation in east of Pretoria to be refurbished with R134mn

The fire and breakdown-prone Wapadrand substation in the east of Pretoria will finally be refurbished with R134million.

Tshwane mayor Randall Williams, speaking at the launch of the substation restoration project, said the city was following through on its promises to residents of the Wapadrand area, who have been subjected to regular power outages.

Wapadrand’s intermittent breakdowns and stints of fires breaking out started years back.

The constant breakdowns and fires left many east residents in suburbs serviced by the station powerless at times for weeks on end.

Williams said over R134 million into the refurbishment project would see the Wapadrand substation rise from the ashes in about 18 months.

“It is common knowledge that the Wapadrand substation has been particularly vulnerable, catching fire or facing critical equipment break downs.”

“We had our hands full last year, working around the clock when two major fire incidents broke out at the substation plunging the surrounding areas into darkness for days on end.”

He said it was a difficult time for all, and “as a City, we intend to ensure that prevent further instances of service interruption into the future.”

Williams had last year conceded that the metro had missed deadlines to repair the substation which catered to several areas around the east of the city.

The scope of work at Wapadrand will be in four phases which includes;

–          Demolition of the existing building that was damaged by fire last year

–          Construction of new substation building to house three 11kV Panel stages

–          Installation of a 35MVA transformer

–          Relocating supply cables to the newly build substation.

–          Construction of a guardroom

Williams said the project reaffirms commitment to prioritise critical infrastructure refurbishment and maintenance to enable economic growth in the metro.