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Johannesburg residents across multiple areas are experiencing widespread blackouts as City Power grapples with an unprecedented volume of service calls.
The utility revealed on Friday morning that more than 5 807 calls were logged within a 24-hour period, signalling a major crisis in the city’s electrical infrastructure.
It warned that its power system was constrained and pleaded with users to limit their electricity consumption to prevent overload.
“Inclement weather conditions could affect our response time to outages. As a result, repairs and restorations may be delayed,” City Power announced.
On Friday morning, the utility’s Roodepoort Service Delivery Centre alone was managing 2 139 calls in its queue, with 1 053 of these pending for over 24 hours.
The utility postponed planned maintenance in some areas due to the cold and rainy weather.
However, amid and despite the crisis, City Power said it was proceeding with essential planned maintenance across several other locations.
According to the power utility, the Stormill Switching Station, which affects Stormill, Highgate Mall, and Putcoton, is undergoing maintenance on Friday.
Additional maintenance is scheduled for the Mechanical Switching Station, which will affect parts of Florida on 25 February, and the Spokeshave Switching Station, which will affect Stormille on 26 February.
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On Friday morning, City Power said its Hursthill Service Delivery Centre was managing 969 open calls with 27 plants out of service.
The SDC disruption affects Orlando, Beyers, Roosevelt, and Mayfair substations.
City Power said was working on restoring power following the Orlando Substation outage.
At Beyers Substation, the utility said teams were working to replace a faulty mini substation affecting Arizona and surrounding streets in Northcliff/Berario.
Meanwhile, at Mayfair Substation, repairs continue following “theft and vandalism in the area, which is currently the cause of an outage affecting the power supply to customers in Caroline, High, Isleworth and surrounding streets in Brixton.”
Regarding Roosevelt, the utility said it would continue with restoration affecting residents in Umtata, Komati, and surrounding streets in Emmarentia.
However, it also could not confirm the estimated time for restoration.
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The Midrand Service Delivery Centre sat at 305 open calls, with 209 logged in the past 24 hours.
City Power reported several major outages being addressed, including at Church Street Switching Station where power has been restored to 68% of affected customers.
“New Road Substation tripped due to double faults on the circuit. The power supply has been restored to 72% and the remaining 28% is affecting part of 08th Road,” City Power reported.
Similarly, at Noordwyk Switching Station, 60% of power supply has been restored, with ongoing outages affecting Sagewood, Forest Walk, parts of Peak Way, and Lowlands Drive.
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The situation at Reuven Service Delivery Centre shows 415 open calls, with 285 logged in the past day.
Teams have made significant progress at the Selby Substation, where they “have managed to drain the water which had flooded the chamber.”
The extent of damage is currently being assessed.
At Eikenhof Substation, power has been restored to 97% of affected customers in Kibler Park, while repairs continue at one mini substation.
Similarly, at Soccer City Switching Station, power has been restored to 98% of customers, with “one load centre will remain off until the completion of repairs.”
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The Lenasia Service Delivery Centre reported 404 open calls, with 307 logged within the last 24 hours and 42 plants out of service.
In Ennerdale, City Power said 90% of power was restored while repairs continue for the remaining customers.
“Ennerdale extension six switching station: Affecting parts of Ennerdale extension six, the team has managed to restore 20% of power supply,” City Power stated.
Other affected areas include Hospital Hills, Vlakfontein, and Lawley 2.
In Eldorado Park, teams discovered “a faulty transformer, they will work on replacing the unit before restoration takes place,” affecting Daffodil Street, Dango Street, and Heavenly Valley.
The Inner City Service Delivery Centre faced 1,004 open calls, including 673 reported in the last 24 hours.
The Cleveland Substation experienced an early morning trip affecting Denver and surrounding areas.
At Observatory Substation, a burnt transformer “at the intersection of 3rd Street and 1st Avenue, has been successfully replaced.”
The utility stated that this followed a fire incident on Tuesday that affected parts of Bez Valley, Judith’s Paarl, and Lorentzville.
The Johnware Substation has faced “prolonged outages due to stolen cables in the underground tunnels, which impacted Newtown and surrounding areas. Work has been delayed by flooded tunnels, necessitating a rerouting procedure.”
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The Randburg Service Delivery Centre reported 571 open calls, with 364 logged in the last 24 hours.
“Our resources will focus on individual outage calls and plants out of service,” City Power stated.
City Power emphasised that “load shedding remains suspended until further notice”.
The utility recommended that “during an outage, unplug all appliances to prevent inrush current when the power supply is restored. This minimises the risk of network disruptions and ensures a continuous electricity supply.”
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