The power outages experienced by various areas of Grahamstown in the early hours of Thursday 27 June may have been caused by cable thieves tampering with the substation in West Street.
The power outages experienced by various areas of Grahamstown in the early hours of Thursday 27 June may have been caused by cable thieves tampering with the substation in West Street.
Grahamstown resident Nic Moolman said he heard a series of loud noises at 5am. He lives directly opposite the substation.
These noises were followed by an explosion and a bright flash of light.
As Moolman left his house to determine the source of the noises he saw a vehicle speeding off up the street.
Upon further investigation he noticed the padlock to the substation door was lying on the ground beside a large piece of concrete.
While outside, he heard another explosion and saw smoke coming from the corner of West Street and Beaufort Street.
Walking to the corner, Moolman saw a hole in the road outside KFC which was filled with water and flames.
Later a traffic cop arrived and put plastic cones around the hole until the fire department arrived and extinguished the fire.
Moolman believes the second explosion was caused by electricity arcing into the water-filled hole, setting the cable housing alight.
Electricity and water had still not been restored to certain areas, including Hill Street and Bartholomew Street, by early afternoon.
