City Power is grappling with severe strain on its electricity network following last night’s intense thunderstorms and persistent rainfall across Johannesburg. More than 2,700 outage calls have been logged since early morning, signalling widespread disruption to supply.
The storms caused significant damage, including a lightning strike at the Northcliff Water Tower, which interrupted operations and affected supply. “Our teams have been dispatched urgently to attend to the incident,” said Isaac Mangena, City Power spokesperson.
Wet conditions have compounded the challenge, hampering restoration efforts as technicians struggle to access waterlogged areas. “The prolonged rainfall continues to affect our ability to respond timeously to faults and maintain a stable electricity supply,” Mangena explained. “Our teams are navigating hazardous terrain, limited access routes and unsafe working environments.”
Several roads remain closed by the Johannesburg Roads Agency due to flooded low-lying bridges, while fallen trees block routes in various parts of the city. “Before we can access some areas, we must wait for the clearing of routes and removal of debris,” Mangena added, noting that these disruptions have delayed response times.
The adverse weather has also led to a spike in underground cable faults caused by excess moisture seeping into the network. Fault detection is proving difficult as equipment cannot function effectively in waterlogged environments, and repairs are delayed where trenches are flooded.
According to this morning’s status report, Roodepoort is the hardest hit, with 906 open calls. Reuven follows with 402 calls, affecting Mulbarton, Glenvista and Soccer City. In the Inner City, outages linked to the loss of Observatory and Orchards substations have impacted areas such as Cheltondale, Linksfield, Orange Grove and Sydenham, with 309 calls logged. Other affected regions include Hursthill (317 calls), Randburg (288), Lenasia (253), Alexandra (209) and Midrand (99).
Despite unavoidable delays, City Power has deployed additional technical teams to accelerate restorations. “Safety remains our priority,” Mangena emphasised. “Technicians cannot operate in areas where there is a high risk of electrical flashover, unstable ground or exposed live infrastructure.”
Residents are urged to exercise caution near damaged or fallen electricity equipment and to keep appliances unplugged, as supply may be restored without prior notice. Those not affected by outages are asked to use electricity sparingly to avoid overloading the already constrained network.
“We apologise for the inconvenience and thank customers for their patience while we work urgently to restore supply across Johannesburg,” Mangena said.
Outage queries can be logged via citypower.mobi or by calling 011 490 7484.
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