Parts of Johannesburg without electricity following Roodepoort substation fire

✔ Fact Checked by TDPel News Desk

By Lola Smith

Published: March 16, 2022 | 10:14 AM

Several areas in the north and west of Johannesburg, including Weltevreden Park and Randpark Ridge, are without electricity on Wednesday.

City Power says the outage is due to a fire at one of its substations in Roodepoort. It says the fire started around 06:30 on Wednesday morning, damaging equipment in the substation.

City Power Spokesperson, Isaac Mangena says the blaze has since been extinguished.

“Repairs will only start after the area has cooled off and declared safe to work. Unfortunately, we are unable to give ETR ( Estimated Time of Return/Repair) at the current moment, but based on the extent of the damage caused, we anticipate that it may take about 48hrs to do the repairs and restore electricity to the affected residents. We really apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused,” says Mangena.

South Africans are likely to experience large increase in electricity prices: Expert

Energy Expert, Sampson Mamphweli says South Africans are likely to experience a large increase in electricity prices in the following financial year.

This after Energy regulator, National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), granted Eskom a 9.61 increase for the upcoming 2022/23 financial year.

It will come into effect on the first of April. Eskom had initially asked for a 20.5% increase.

Video: Eskom sticks to decision to apply for a 20,5 % electricity tariff increase

Eskom still needs to recover billions: Mamphweli

Mamphweli says Eskom still needs to recover billions of rands.

“Looking at this, I see us having a much bigger increase next year than the 20.5% that Eskom had requested and I see Eskom coming back with a much bigger regulatory account because there is the plus/minus R14bn that Eskom needs to recover in the following financial year and that is going to come back to haunt the consumers,” says Mamphweli.

Nersa grants Eskom 9.6% tariff increase

The municipal increases will come into effect from July and for Eskom customers, the increase will be from April.

Nersa says the R5.6 billion which is owed by government departments needs to be paid.

“As you would know, you have to add all approved RCA’s (regulatory clearing account) when those are added then the increase becomes 9.61%. Eskom had applied for revenue which was much higher than this,” explains Nersa’s Regulator Member for Electricity, Nhlanhla Gumede.

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About Lola Smith

Lola Smith is a highly experienced writer and journalist with over 25 years of experience in the field. Her special interest lies in journalistic writeups, where she can utilize her skills and knowledge to bring important stories to the public eye. Lola’s dedication to her craft is unparalleled, and she writes with passion and precision, ensuring that her articles are informative, engaging, and thought-provoking. She lives in New York, USA.