Power outage to affect Joburg CBD for days after substation fire

Johannesburg’s central business district (CBD) and surrounding areas may remain without electricity until Saturday following a fire that destroyed infrastructure at the central substation.

City Power issued an update on Wednesday regarding the ongoing power disruption that began on Tuesday.

Joburg CBD power outage

“Our team has completed a thorough assessment and measured the damage caused,” City Power stated.

“The team is now actively exploring backfeeding options to attempt to reinstate supply temporarily while arrangements to replace the damaged electrical equipment commence.”

According to City Power, its operators were only able to access the site on Wednesday morning after Johannesburg Emergency Services declared the area safe.

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In their update, City Power said they anticipated that repairs will be “finalised over the next four days, by Saturday, 22 March 2025”.

Meanwhile, in response to a customer who asked whether power would be back temporarily or would only be restored on Saturday, the utility said: “No (ETR) estimation of restoration has been set as yet.”

Areas affected by power outage

The outage has impacted several areas including:

• City and Suburban;
• Jewel City;
• Marshalltown;
• Selby;
• Salisbury Claims;
• Wemmer, and surrounding neighborhoods.

As a precautionary measure, City Power has asked residents to unplug electrical appliances to reduce the risk of potential damage or inrush current during the restoration process, noting that “power may be restored without prior notice”.

While the cause of the fire remains undetermined, City Power confirmed that investigations are ongoing.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused and appeal for patience as we work to resolve this supply interruption,” City Power added.

ALSO READ: City Power recalls staff from leave, increases overtime to clear electricity outage backlog

Power outage restoration progress

On Tuesday, City Power said restoration efforts were 80% complete following a separate disruption caused by a burnt mini-substation at Faraday Market.

City Power previously said arrangements for replacement were in final stages, with expectations that a new unit would be delivered to the site by Wednesday.

David McMahon, the acting General Manager of the Inner City SDC, provided a detailed update on the substation’s status after assessing the damage.

“We have done a site assessment after the fire of yesterday and there was severe damage to our feeder board number four which is affecting the Standard Bank … and the Selby substation,” McMahon said.

#CityPowerServices #CityPowerUpdates#InnerCitySDC

David McMahon, the acting General Manager of the Inner City SDC, provided a definitive update on the Central Substation's status after the fire incident, ensuring that all relevant parties are informed and prepared for the next… pic.twitter.com/jCqzZ4JkmG

— @CityPowerJhb (@CityPowerJhb) March 19, 2025

“At the moment we have assessed the situation and we are currently busy isolating the burnt feeder board and we will try to restore supply to feeder board 1A and feeder board 1B.”

McMahon added: “From there we are already in progress of making plans and arrangements to get the feeder board cold repot portion that was cleared up so we can give this feeder board 4A a temporary supply. If all goes well, we should have supply restored to feeder board 1A and feeder board 1B by this afternoon and we’ll keep you posted on feeder board 4A repairs.”

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