30 teams fixing outages
2007-11-17 17:31
Johannesburg - Progress in restoring powerlines was going well, after they were damaged by raging storms in Johannesburg, City Power said.
"We are progressing really well, but there is no telling how long repairs such as these actually take," City Power spokesperson Louis Pieterse said.
Friday afternoon's thunderstorms blew over many trees onto powerlines. The power lines were either damaged by the trees, causing short circuiting, or cut off completely.
The outages were occurring in Johannesburg's eastern and northern suburbs.
Pieterse said that almost 30 teams were working on the problem.
"Technicians have been working throughout the night to make the necessary repairs. Some of these lines may have to be rebuilt," he said.
He said that a low voltage power line could take up to four or five hours to be restored.
Affected areas include: Lyndhurst, Waverley, Bramley, Kew, Glenhazel, Wynberg, Kensington, Killarney, Houghton, Orange Grove, Melrose, Inanda, Fairmount, Linksfield, Observatory, Bez Valley, Blairgowrie, Ferndale, Greenside, Linden, Northcliff, Randburg and Weltervreden Park.
Electricity supplier Eskom said that load shedding would not take place during the course of the day.
- SAPA