Power utility Eskom says an internal fault resulted in a transformer explosion at a unit at the Camden power station in Mpumalanga, though no supply disruptions are expected.
No injuries have been reported and the fire has been contained, with the incident affecting a unit that produces about 190MW.
“An investigation to determine the cause, the extent of the damage and the possible return to service is under way,” Eskom said on Wednesday.
Eskom's six-month summer plan, which runs until the end of March 2022, has assumed a base case of an average of 12,000MW of unplanned outages, which would have required one day of load-shedding.
Each stage represents 1,000MW being cut from the grid, and the utility has said this number has been exceeded, with SA last experiencing load-shedding on December 5.
Eskom has been battling in recent years to keep up with maintenance of its ageing infrastructure, and also suffered an explosion at unit 4 of its new Medupi power station in August, which cut 800MW from the grid.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.