Johannesburg – City Power has announced that repairs to the burnt-out parts of the Central Substation will likely begin tomorrow, Monday 28 September 2026.
The underground fire, which filled the tunnels with smoke, was reported yesterday, Saturday, 26 September 2026.
City Power said its technical teams will investigate the cause of the fire at Central Substation after the smoke clears from the underground cable tunnels.
“The initial assessment suggests that infrastructure such as cables and the feederboard were burnt during the incident, resulting in an electricity outage affecting customers in Marshalltown and surrounding parts of the Johannesburg CBD,” City Power said in a statement made available to The Bulrushes.
“The incident was triggered by a suspected cable theft and vandalism in the underground tunnels near Central Substation.
“A suspected thief, believed to be working with an organised criminal syndicate targeting electrical infrastructure in the tunnels, was badly injured during the incident and is currently under police guard in hospital.”
Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) remained on site following the incident, with access to the tunnels restricted due to persistent smoke and safety concerns.
With the smoke cleared, City Power said specialised investigation teams were now able to access the affected infrastructure to assess the extent of the damage and determine the repairs required.
EMS was expected to hand over the site to City Power technical teams.
“The immediate priority is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the burnt infrastructure, including the feederboard, cables, and associated infrastructure, establish the scope of repairs, and initiate the necessary insurance claims process,” the statement said.
“These processes will inform the restoration plan and the materials and equipment required to undertake the repairs.”
City Power said the estimated time of restoration would only be determined after these assessments.
In parallel, City Power continues to explore alternative electricity supply points for the possibility of restoring power to some affected customers while investigations and repairs at Central Substation are underway.
City Power Acting Chief Executive Officer Charles Tlouane said the assessment and insurance processes were necessary steps toward beginning repairs.
Acting CEO Tlouane said full work was anticipated to begin on Monday, 28 September 2026.
“Our teams must first establish the extent of the damage to the burnt infrastructure and initiate the necessary insurance claims process,” said Tlouane.
“We anticipate that repair work will commence on Monday, once these preliminary processes have been attended to.
“But we are doing everything in our power to minimize the inconvenience on our customers.
“Hence, the team is exploring alternative supply arrangements to see if we can get some sections of the area back on while the main repair work gets underway.”
While City Power apologised for the inconvenience suffered by affected clients, CEO Tlouane said the matter of organised criminality targeting electricity supply had been escalated to the police “with the hope that they will assist to clamp down on the scourge”.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although vandalism and theft are suspected.
City Power continues to urge residents and businesses to report suspicious activities around electricity infrastructure to City Power Security Risk Management on 011 490 7900 or 011 490 7911, or via WhatsApp on 083 579 4497.
For isolated individual outages and other electricity-related queries, customers are advised to log calls on citypower.mobi or call 011 490 7484 / 0800 202 925.
