Electricity being restored following explosion at Durban substation

eThekwini Municipality says electricity has been restored in most areas affected by a major power outage following a trip at its Klaarwater major substation which left many parts of the city in the dark.

12 Oct 2022

Source: Gallo/Getty

An explosion at the 275kv Klaarwater substation, which is a key supply point to the city from Eskom, occurred on Tuesday evening, 11 October, causing multiple power outages across large parts of Durban and surrounding areas.

Extensive damage at Shallcross substation

In a statement on Wednesday, the municipality said the city’s Electricity Unit started to restore supply on Tuesday night, area by area.

“This is done in a controlled and very careful sequence to limit the risk of further faults and further damage. There is, unfortunately, confirmed extensive damage at our Shallcross substation, which could take up to 48 hours to repair, [and] unfortunately, some customers in this area will remain off for now.

Watch: Many areas in Durban have been left in the dark unexpectedly following a massive power outage. Videos are doing the rounds of an explosion apparently at the Klaarwater sub station.

Video supplied. @ECR_Newswatch pic.twitter.com/hgdcVZO05U
— Lauren_Beukes39 (@LBeukes39) October 11, 2022

“Our teams are working around the clock to restore supply to as many customers as quickly as possible, but at this juncture, we cannot provide specifics until we have completed our inspections, which cover an extensive area of overhead HV lines from the Klaarwater area as far as Waterfall in the outer west,” the municipality said.

It said the strong winds and lightning around 7pm to 8.30pm appeared to have been the primary cause of the faults, but “this cannot be confirmed 100% at this stage”.