Veld fires trigger widespread power outage in Joburg — these are the areas affected [VIDEO]

Residents in Alexandra, the inner city of Johannesburg, Midrand, and Reuven have been plunged into darkness after being hit by a widespread power outage.

The outage was reportedly caused by veld fires that caused a trip at Sebenza substation.

City Power said that Johannesburg Emergency Services is onsite working to extinguish the fire underneath the substation’s transmission servitude.

Veld fires trip substation

The power utility started communicating with residents in Midrand, the inner city, and Alexandra about an unplanned power disruption from about 1:50 pm on social media before it confirmed the trip.

“Our operators have also been dispatched to kickstart the process of restoring supply once the fire has been contained,” said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

“That process will include an assessment of the damage and whether serious repairs will be required before restoring full supply.”

Watch a video of the veld fire below:

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Affected areas

The following areas that fall under the Alexandra, Inner City, Midrand, and Reuven service delivery centres have been affected: Kew, Gresswold, Elton Melrose, Savoy, The Gardens, Orchards, Highlands North, Rouxville, Waverley, Winston Ridge, Birdhaven Abbotsford, Bramley, Savoy Ext, Bez-Valley Bruma, Bertrams, Bellevue, Cyrildene, De Wetshof, Judith’s Paarl, Killarney, Houghton Estate, Oaklands, Norwood, Orchards, Linksfield Ridge, Cleveland, Benrose, Denver, Malvern, Silvamonte, Sydenham, Sandringham, Glenhazel, Parktown, Observatory, Jeppestown, Jeppestown South, Troyville, Tabolton, Heriotdale, Heriotdale Ext. 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, Greenstone, Modderfontein, Sebenza, and the surrounding areas.

Unclear when fire will be put out

“It’s still not clear at this stage how long it would take to put out the fire and ultimately restore power supply, but we will provide customers with regular updates,” City Power said.

Customers took to X (formerly Twitter) to raise their frustrations about the outage, with some hoping it wouldn’t take weeks to repair the damage.

“Why is it that such massive outages do not happen in Cape Town?” one resident, Sonia Zwane, asked.

The power utility also cautioned residents against contributing to starting veld fires.

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“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused,” City Power said.

City Power later announced that the power supply had been fully restored at 4:45pm.