Alexandra power outages: Vandalism suspected after fire damages substation

As Alexandra sits without electricity, officials have been inspecting the cause of the fire that broke out at the substation that feeds electricity into the township.

As reported by EWN, officials from City Power responded to the township after it was discovered that a fire had broken out at the substation.

Unrest in Alexandra

The atmosphere has been hostile in the township since the protests that broke out in April.

Residents have been calling on the provincial government to respond more proactively to demands concerning land invasions, sewage issues and the availability of free housing.

At the top of this long list of demands is the question around what happened to the Alexandra Renewal Project.

Much of these questions have yet to be answered and the residents have shown little patience with the government.

That is why it is suspected that the current predicament the township finds itself in was caused by the people who live in it.

What caused the fire at the Alex substation?

According to Isaac Mangena from City Power, there is enough reason to believe that the fire may have been caused by members of the Alex community.

“There’s a suspicion of vandalism because a padlock to the sitting chambers was broken and we suspect that the fire could have started either during that time or while the people were inside. That will be part of the investigation,” Mangena revealed.

Mangena has not revealed much detail around when Alex can expect to have the output of electricity restored at the substation.

This setback, he said, was not only self-inflicted, but it also affects the portion of the community that is not participating in this defiance shown against the government.

“This really inconvenienced most people in Alexandra who most of them slept without electricity in the area,” Mangena added.