City Power suspects cable tampering in Joburg CBD substation fire; no restoration time yet

City Power says suspected cable tampering may have caused the fire at Johannesburg’s central substation that has left parts of the CBD without electricity. The utility has not given a time for restoring supply.

Spokesperson Isaac Mangena said technicians found an axe, a jigsaw and evidence of attempts to cut copper cables in underground tunnels near the damaged equipment. He described the link between the suspected tampering and the fire as a preliminary finding, not a final conclusion.

City Power has handed the affected area to law-enforcement authorities to investigate. Repair teams will need access to establish the full damage, clear debris and determine what equipment must be replaced, according to Mangena’s account reported by TimesLIVE.

The utility is also examining whether alternative supply points could bring electricity back to some customers while the main repairs are prepared. It has not said that any such transfer has been completed.

Marshalltown and surrounding CBD areas are among those affected. Eyewitness News reported that parts of the inner city have faced prolonged interruptions this month, including an earlier outage before the latest substation fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. City Power has not issued a confirmed restoration estimate, so customers should not treat an unverified time circulating online as an official schedule.