Residents in parts of Jukskei Park, Ward 115, were left without electricity for more than 10 days before City Power connected a generator to restore temporary supply.

City Power has clarified that repeated infrastructure vandalism and the availability of specialised replacement equipment caused the prolonged electricity outage affecting residents in Jukskei Park and surrounding areas.

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City Power general manager for public relations and communication Isaac Mangena confirmed two transformers were vandalised last week in Saffier Street and Platina Street, placing additional pressure on the local electricity network. He said recent outages in Ward 115, including Jukskei Park, were not caused by budget constraints, instead, the prolonged outage was linked to a fault on an existing ring main unit, with City Power currently sourcing a replacement unit. “Such incidents cause significant damage to critical electricity infrastructure and require technical teams to undertake repairs or replacement work, which can affect restoration timelines,” said Mangena.

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While the permanent solution is being implemented, City Power connected a generator to provide temporary electricity to affected customers. According to Mangena, all affected customers have since been restored through the temporary generator supply, although residents who remain without electricity are encouraged to report individual faults for investigation.

Ward 115 councillor Mark van der Merwe welcomed the intervention, particularly efforts to supply temporary power to residents while the permanent repair is addressed. He said he was grateful to see City Power attend to the situation and attempt to minimise the impact on residents by providing generators.

Mangena said repeated vandalism of electricity infrastructure remains a serious challenge across Johannesburg, recording 1 138 infrastructure-related incidents during the 2024/25 financial year and a further 1 054 during 2025/26. Mangena said delays in replacing specialised equipment can also occur because of availability, sourcing and delivery constraints, particularly when the same equipment is required elsewhere across the network.

He urged residents to report suspected vandalism, cable theft, illegal connections and other suspicious activity to help protect critical infrastructure.

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