Electricity has been restored to all affected areas of Durban except the epicentre of a power station explosion, Shallcross, southwest of Durban.
The eThekwini municipality told Business Day on Wednesday that its technicians had been working nonstop to bring the situation under control after 50% of the city plunged into darkness late on Tuesday night.
A major electrical power station exploded at Klaarwater in Shallcross during an extreme weather phenomenon.
The city has been hit by weather-related disasters since 2017 due to heavy rainfalls. In April, unprecedented flooding and landslides claimed more than 400 lives, displaced more than 40,000 people, caused damage running into billions of rand to roads and bridges, and brought business to its knees.
In May, further downpours devastated the already compromised business sector, causing further damage to infrastructure. The Durban South Basin was hardest hit and Toyota was forced to close its manufacturing plant in the area.
On Tuesday night, residents watched in horror as blue and white flames burst high into the sky accompanied by a huge explosion that reverberated across a wide area, bringing back nightmares of the 2021 riots that saw large plumes of smoke from arson attacks engulf the city.
According to the municipality, strong winds and lightning appear to have caused the latest electricity outages, but this has not yet been confirmed.
“We can confirm that the supply has been restored to all substations except for Shallcross,” eThekwini municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said.
“Our technicians have been working around the clock and managed to restore some areas, but the full return to all affected areas will be done in the next 48 hours.
“We started to restore electricity area by area. This was done in a controlled and careful sequence to limit the risk of further faults and further damage. There is unfortunately extensive damage at our Shallcross substation which could take up to 48 hours to repair, so unfortunately some customers in this area will remain off for now.
“Teams are stretched to the limit working around the clock to restore supply to as many customers as possible, 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 high voltage lines from the Klaarwater area as far as Waterfall in the outer-west,” said Mayisela.
He said a technical fault at Ridgeside substation, which affected the uMhlanga area, had been resolved and the power supply restored.
The lighting and thunder came during heavy winds and a sharp spike in temperature. Explanations for the extreme conditions range from a strong “berg wind” to a rare phenomenon known as a heat burst.
The SA Weather Service attributed the heat, which reached up to 40°C, to a berg wind, a phenomenon that KwaZulu-Natal is familiar with. But residents remain sceptical and many believe it was due to a heat burst.
Businesses expressed dismay over the blackout and said the local economy cannot absorb any more blows.
Strike, floods and unrest
“The city is still reeling from the recent floods, compounded by the ongoing and crippling Transnet strike. This will also have a serious knock-on effect for business,” said Solly Suleman, president of the national Minara Chamber of Commerce.
He said opening of the electricity market to independent energy producers is now urgent as load-shedding is crippling the local economy.
“We are hearing that some businesses have already had to close their doors to the public as they cannot afford generators. Those who have generators are hard hit by the heavy fuel costs. We have seen those in the hospitality and agricultural sector suffer heavy losses, and everywhere perishable food must be thrown out,” said Suleman.
He said the Transnet strike, April floods, the July 2021 unrest and Covid-19 pandemic were crippling businesses in the city. “We are seeing members close shop and others taking their businesses outside the province.”
Suliman painted a gloomy picture of the jewel in Durban’s crown, it’s port operations.
“When it comes to the port, operations are sitting at around 15% at present, and given what happened in 2010 and the congestion and slow turnaround, some have opted to have their exports channelled via Mozambique and then transported by road to Gauteng. We are in a state of panic and worry,” said Suleman.
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.