On Sunday, the Ekurhuleni Municipality released a video showing a transformer at a Kempton Park substation onfire. This resulted in OR Tambo International Airport losing its supply of electricity.
The Municipality confirmed that the airport was not the only place affected by the fire and that the cause of the fire is not yet known. An investigation will proceed when it is safe to investigate the scene.
Commuters were angered by the inconvenience the power cut had caused for their plane flights. During the blackoutfew staff at the airport were reported to be on duty and a number of flights had to be delayed.
“The power outage started at around 11am and lasted about two hours. Certain services were affected, such asretail outlets and some communication mechanisms. Airport operations continued, assisted by the back-up generator systems which ensured that critical infrastructure continued. Manual operations were also activated in main stream services such as baggage systems,” said Samukelo Khambule spokesperson of Airports Company South Africa.
Currently Eskom has been implementing stage two load-shedding across the province of Gauteng but President Cyril Ramaphosa announced at the African National Congress’ 108th Celebration, in Kimberly. He stated that Eskom is too big to fail and solutions will be provided to avoid load-shedding in South Africa.
