Repairs to Eikenhof substation 'near completion'

Repairs to the Eikenhof substation in Johannesburg are nearing completion‚ City Power said.

The substation shut down on Monday after a fire decimated one transformer and partially burnt another. The blaze affected suburbs across Johannesburg‚ as well as Rand Water. As a result‚ taps ran dry in parts of the city.

"The current progress on-site is promising and we should be able to restore power partially in some of the suburbs affected by later this evening. All the planned activities to restore power are on track according to the plan‚" City Power said in a statement issued on Tuesday night.

"The livening up of the transformers and other substation equipment is expected to start towards midnight tonight. The earliest full restoration of electricity is expected to be tomorrow (Wednesday) morning for both residential and business customers in the South and West of Johannesburg."

City Power said it would confirm when power would be restored to residents and Rand Water on Wednesday morning.

"We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience‚ and we will communicate with them as and when we have a new progress report. Customers can also follow City Power on Twitter @CityPowerJHB for further updates."