DA WARNINGS IGNORED BY TSHWANE ANC NOW HEATHERLY SUBSTATION BURNS

Ald Cilliers Brink DA Tshwane Caucus Leader and DA Tshwane mayoral candidate photo by Dimakatso Modipa

By Cilliers Brink
DA Tshwane Caucus Leader

Last night a transformer at the Heatherly Substation in the East of Pretoria caught fire.

This substation fire is yet another devastating blow to Tshwane’s already fragile electricity network.

While full details surrounding the cause of the fire are still emerging, this is but the latest in a thread of substations going up in flames under the current ANC–ActionSA-led administration.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has been raising concerns about fire protection at substations across the city, and when in Government prioritised funds to upgrade equipment to prevent these occurrences.

Since the DA’s removal from government, however, the City’s priorities have visibly shifted away from stabilising electricity supply and ensuring reliable service delivery.

Instead of focusing relentlessly on core infrastructure maintenance and grid resilience, the current administration has presided over worsening instability across Tshwane’s electricity network.

Large parts of the metro have been battling extended outages since November.

Residents continue to endure prolonged blackouts, inconsistent restoration timelines, and poor communication, with no credible indication that a coordinated crisis response is in place.

It would be a cop-out to blame these outages solely on ageing infrastructure or Tshwane’s financial position.

The current crisis has been materially worsened by deliberate political decisions taken in the February 2025 adjustment budget, where the ANC-led coalition defunded water and electricity maintenance in favour of increased allocations to water tankers and security contracts.

Despite the increased spending on security, cable theft and vandalism have worsened.

There is no visible return on the funds diverted away from maintenance.

At the same time, key infrastructure upgrades scheduled for the 2024/25 financial year were defunded, structurally weakening Tshwane’s electricity grid.

Those warnings were issued at the time. They have now materialised.

The consequences are severe and immediate. Businesses cannot operate.

Smallholdings are left without water because boreholes require electricity.

Elderly residents reliant on oxygen and other medical equipment are placed at direct risk.

Earlier this year, the DA formally wrote to NERSA, placing on record that the City of Tshwane may be in breach of its licence conditions as an electricity distributor, particularly in relation to reliability, response times, and communication with customers.

We are currently collecting affidavits from affected residents and businesses and will be proceeding with further regulatory action.

The Heatherley Substation fire reinforces the urgent need for:

•⁠An independent forensic investigation into repeated substation fires and infrastructure failures in Tshwane;

•Immediate restoration of funds to water and electricity maintenance in the February 2026 adjustment budget; and

•⁠A publicly accessible infrastructure recovery plan with measurable timelines.

The DA has launched a petition calling on the City to reverse the defunding of critical maintenance and to prioritise infrastructure stability over politically convenient expenditure.

Just as residents are required to pay for services in full and on time, the City is legally obliged to deliver electricity that is reliable, safe, and compliant with regulatory standards.