JOHANNESBURG, Thursday 15 October 2026 — Johannesburg’s municipal electricity utility, City Power, has withdrawn its latest restoration deadline after another explosion at the Central Substation disrupted efforts to restore electricity to parts of the inner city.
The explosion occurred on Wednesday evening as technical teams attempted to restore supply through newly installed equipment.
City Power had previously indicated that electricity could be restored to most affected customers by midday on Thursday.
However, the utility said the latest incident had made that target impossible to confirm.
Another explosion disrupts restoration work
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the explosion occurred while technicians were attempting to restore supply through a newly installed feeder board.
The Selby incomer, which had failed on Tuesday, failed again during Wednesday’s restoration attempt.
The extent of the damage and the cause of the explosion had not yet been established.
Emergency personnel responded to the incident while technical teams assessed whether the facility was safe to access.
City Power said a revised restoration estimate would depend on safety clearance, damage assessments and the repairs required.
Repeated fires affect Johannesburg CBD
The latest explosion follows another fire at the Central Substation on Tuesday.
That incident was the fourth fire reported at the facility since September.
Previous fires occurred on 6, 9 and 25 September.
The repeated incidents have caused prolonged electricity interruptions across parts of Johannesburg’s central business district.
City Power had restored supply to many affected areas by 8 October before another interruption occurred earlier this week.
The utility has previously linked some incidents involving its underground electricity infrastructure to suspected cable theft and vandalism.
However, the cause of the latest explosion has not been established.
Businesses and residents remain affected
Areas affected by the electricity interruptions include Marshalltown, Wemmer, Selby and parts of the Johannesburg inner city.
Sections of Albert, Eloff, Commissioner and Anderson streets have also experienced outages.
The repeated disruptions have affected residents and businesses, including commercial operations dependent on reliable electricity.
Some residents have reported additional expenses associated with prolonged outages, while businesses have faced interruptions to normal operations.
City Power acknowledged the difficulties experienced by affected customers.
The utility said technical teams continued working to restore electricity despite the setbacks.
Infrastructure reliability under scrutiny
The repeated failures at the Central Substation have raised concerns about the security and reliability of electricity infrastructure serving Johannesburg’s inner city.
City Power has previously warned about theft and vandalism affecting its underground electricity network.
The utility has also reported damage to critical equipment during earlier incidents.
However, the causes of the latest fire and subsequent explosion remain subject to investigation.
The distinction is important because previous incidents involving suspected criminal activity do not establish that every subsequent failure had the same cause.
No revised restoration time confirmed
City Power said it would provide further information once technical assessments had established the condition of the affected equipment.
The utility also urged members of the public to remain clear of substations, underground cable tunnels and other electricity infrastructure.
The latest incident comes less than three weeks before Johannesburg residents vote in the municipal elections.
Electricity reliability and municipal infrastructure maintenance remain important service delivery issues for the city’s residents and businesses.
For now, affected customers face continued uncertainty while City Power assesses the damage and determines when supply can safely be restored.
