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What started the vibrations was a dropper that reacted as a pendulum when it fell across the bus bars. It was with the third swing that it came in contact with an earth connection causing a complete shut down. The cause of the vibrations was the transformers trying to compensate the load.

The clamps holding the droppers were all replaced with clamps having two extra fixing bolts.

The second incident took place when one of the switching staff put the earth rod on the live side of an isolator. According to him that was the instruction he received from the control room. He only received minor burn marks from the sparks but there was very little left of the earth rod, which was then basically just a length of conduit with the necessary attachments. A length of garden hose served as an insulator. After this incident I had to modify the existing telephone system so that all calls to and from the control room could be recorded. The correct earthing rods were also purchased.

The third incident took place when one of the maintenance labourers returning to work after lunch climbed up the wrong breaker. The rest of the maintenance squad on arriving at the site virtually froze in their tracks seeing him sitting on a live 66,000Volt circuit breaker. They knew one false move and the labourer would be kicking up daisies. Des Burns who was transferred from the mines was with the maintenance squad and he apparently handled the situation like a professional. How the labourer escaped from being electrocuted remained a mystery but after that, all equipment undergoing maintenance was barricaded.

The only fatal accident in the eight years with C.P.C

The late Pieter Rossouw lost his life while checking serial numbers on the surge diverters at Ndola. He died as a result of the burns he received.

Copper wire theft

With the construction of a power line near Luano the copper wire theft became a major problem. It was decided to energies the line after a days shift. This could slow down the construction as they would be required to isolate the line after each shift but in the long run they would actually reap the benefit. The protection equipment was set to prevent serious injury and a plan of action was set in place. Within days the alarm bells went off. The security squad was in no time on the site. On arrival they found two of the thieves supporting a third. He somehow survived both the electric shock and the fall from the pole. He was however seriously burnt. The line was completed with no further theft.

Additional training received from C.P.C.

In August 1962 I was appointed as a Charge Hand and after that on numerous occasions acted as Foreman.

It was felt that anyone in a Foreman or acting Forman ’s position should be acquainted with some of the other work phases.

I had to attend some time with the welder and sheet metal worker. During the time with the sheet metal worker I made myself a toolbox, which I gave away recently.