Eskom on Tuesday night said that a 33000 voltage transformer breaker at the Mapopane East electricity substation had tripped at around 6pm, plunging the volatile township in the City of Tshwane, Pretoria, into darkness.
The power utility said this had impacted on a number of substations around the Tshwane township, including Vuka, Winterveld, Nonyane and Makgatho substations, affecting approximately 25,000 customers.
Eskom technicians were allegedly chased away by protesting masses when they tried to respond to the troubled substation.
“We would like to put it on record that this is the same substation where our staff members were chased away by the community earlier because of the protest action that happened today in Tshwane,” Eskom said in a statement.
“In the interest of mitigating this challenge, security has since been dispatched to escort our field team to investigate.”
Tshwane residents in townships including Atteridgeville, Soshanguve, Hammanskraal and Mamelodi, on Tuesday morning went on a frenzied rampage, torching vehicles, closing down streets and looting shops in protest against the imposition of an African National Congress (ANC) Mayoral Candidate.
The violence was over the decision by the ANC to deploy former cabinet minister Thoko Didiza as the party’s Tshwane Mayoral Candidate ahead of the upcoming local government elections instead of the incumbent Kgosientso Ramokgopa whom they prefer.
The SABC reported on Tuesday night that looting had intensified in Mabopane as more and more shops were being vandalized.
“Mabopane residents have started looting foreign owned shops and other stores including PEP and Barnetts,” journalist Tshepiso Moche tweeted.
Eskom said it remained committed to ensuring that customers have a continuous supply of electricity and would provide regular updates on the state of the power system through various media platforms.
“We urge customers to report any illegal connections or power outages to the Eskom Contact Centre.”
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