City Power is dealing with extensive power outages across Johannesburg on Christmas Day, with service delivery centres reporting more than 2 700 open calls as teams work to restore electricity to thousands of affected customers.
The power utility issued urgent warnings about system constraints.
“The power system is constrained. We urge customers to reduce their electricity consumption to prevent overload,” City Power stated on Thursday morning.
Inclement weather is complicating restoration efforts across Johannesburg. City Power warned that “the possibility of inclement weather conditions could affect our response time to outages”, noting that “repairs and restorations may be delayed” as a result.
Hursthill bears brunt of outages
According to City Power, the Hursthill Service Delivery Centre is managing one of the highest volumes of incidents, with 659 open calls and 365 logged within the past 24 hours.
The centre has 51 plants currently out of service.
In Rosebank, City Power teams have made progress following a substation failure.
“Our teams have successfully restored up to 94% of power supply to majority of customers in Rosebank,” the utility reported.
However, Dimension Data and the surrounding areas remain affected by the Feeder Board 4/Bus Section outage.
Power restoration in Industria and Bosmont has been slower, with operators achieving 64% supply recovery.
Although parts of Bosmont remain without electricity due to a cable fault. City Power confirmed that “a team is en route to site to commence with fault location”.
“Upon location of the fault, the team will proceed with repairs and subsequent power restoration efforts,” the utility added.
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Inner city faces flooding complications
The Inner City Service Delivery Centre is addressing 405 open calls, 266 of which have exceeded 24 hours.
A flooded medium voltage chamber at the Central B substation has created unique challenges along Johannesburg CBD’s Albertina Sisulu and Eloff streets.
City Power has isolated the flooded chamber “to prevent further damage” and is coordinating with Joburg Water for drainage assistance.
The utility stated that “City Power teams will conduct assessments once the water has been drained”.
In Kensington and surrounding areas, the Cleveland Substation outage has been partially resolved.
City Power reported that “power has been restored to 70% of customers in Kensington, Malvern and surrounding areas,” with cable repairs scheduled for the remaining affected customers.
Restoration efforts at the Observatory substation are nearing completion for Cyrildene and De Westhof residents. “Our restoration efforts are currently 95% complete,” City Power confirmed.
The utility said teams were conducting testing and implementing repairs for remaining customers.
Roodepoort faces multiple infrastructure challenges
Roodepoort Service Delivery Centre is managing 493 open calls, with 363 exceeding the 24-hour mark.
The area is experiencing multiple outages requiring complex interventions.
In Honeydew and Honeydew Grove, operators have been notified of unplanned power loss.
City Power indicated that “a team will be dispatched to investigate during the course of the day,” with updates to follow after testing.
The Robertville Substation outage affecting Robertville and Stormill stems from a fault between specific infrastructure points.
“Operators have pinpointed the problem between the Robertville Station No 2 and the Kohler Brother No 2 BMK (Bulk Metering Kiosk),” according to City Power.
Weltevredenpark and Allen’s Nek face extended outages due to double cable faults.
City Power reported that “six mini substations will remain off until the double cable faults between the Palmiet No 1 mini substation and the Kingston mini substation are located and repaired.”
Vandalism is affecting power restoration in some areas. The Fleurhof Substation serving Fleurhof Extension 5 and JoshCo Flats has been compromised.
“The mini substation is vandalised,” City Power stated, noting that temporary generator supply would be provided “until a replacement mini substation becomes available”.
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Progress reported in other service areas
The Reuven Service Delivery Centre has 449 open calls, with 220 exceeding 24 hours.
At the Eikenhof Substation, cable fault repairs are ongoing, though significant progress has been achieved.
“For now, supply is restored up to 88%,” City Power reported, affecting customers in Alan Manor, Comptonville, Naturena and surrounding areas.
Alexandra Service Delivery Centre is handling 171 open calls, with 134 logged over 24 hours. Following multiple cable faults at Gresswold Substation, restoration has progressed.
City Power stated that “power supply has been restored to 83% of customers on 1st and 2nd Street in Wynberg, parts of Kew and the areas between 11th and 13th Roads.”
Midrand Service Delivery Centre reported 113 open calls, with 68 from the past 24 hours. At Church Street Switching Station in Halfway House, the fault location has been successful.
“The test branch team has successfully located the faults and the team will resume with repairs,” City Power confirmed.
The utility noted that approximately 40% of the supply has been restored, though six load centres remain affected.
Meanwhile, the Randburg Service Delivery Centre opened with 273 open calls, 175 of which exceeded 24 hours.
Furthermore, the Lenasia Service Delivery Centre is managing 161 calls, 117 of which were logged in the last 24 hours.
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