Joburg CBD power outage: City Power begins staged repairs after Central Substation fire

City Power resumed repairs at Central Substation on Monday, after a fire cut electricity to Marshalltown and parts of the Johannesburg CBD.

No restoration time has been given.

The fire damaged the underground network on Saturday.

According to City Power, the utility could not say when power would return.

“At this stage, City Power cannot provide an estimated restoration time, as teams must first complete the necessary cleaning, checks and restoration work.”

Repairs will happen in stages

Acting CEO Charles Tlouane met a team on site that morning to draw up a repair plan. City Power said sections of the network would return one at a time.

“This work is being carried out in stages because each section of the network must first be checked and confirmed safe before it can be returned to service.”

The utility said the goal was clear.

“The objective is to progressively restore the electricity supply to affected customers as different sections of the network are safely brought back into operation.”

Why repairs only resumed on Monday

The smoke cleared on Sunday. The area was then released for assessment and repairs. City Power said the heat was the problem.

“Temperatures inside the affected area remained too high for teams to safely continue working.”
Crews started with the basics, according to the statement.

“The immediate focus today is on cleaning the affected infrastructure, replacing stolen equipment and carrying out the necessary tests to establish which parts of the network can safely be restored.”

Signs of cable theft found in tunnels

City Power said its teams found evidence of tampering underground. The statement described what they found.

“Technical teams discovered an axe, a jigsaw, and other tools commonly associated with cable theft, most of which were found beneath the damaged equipment.”

Teams then left the area so police could secure the scene.

A suspect, badly burnt, remains in hospital under police guard. The utility gave an early view of the cause.

“Preliminary observations suggested that the suspected tampering may have triggered the explosion and subsequent fire.”

City Power also asked people to keep away from the site.

“We urge members of the public to refrain from going to the substation for safety reasons, and to avoid speaking to technicians on site, as this may delay the work.”