Residents across Germiston and surrounding areas continue to experience prolonged power outages as the City of Ekurhuleni’s Energy Department works to repair multiple faults on its 33kV electricity network.

According to the Energy Department, the outage has affected Germiston CBD, Germiston South, Germiston Industries South and East, Pirowville, Georgetown, Delville, Elandshaven, Gosforth Park, Rand Airport, Denlee, Lambton, parts of Parkhill Gardens, Hazel Park, Hazeldene, Lambton Gardens, Mimosa Park, Estera, Stone Arch and Castleview.

Officials said the widespread outage was caused by multiple cable faults, with additional faults being discovered during repair work.

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Technicians continue to locate and repair each damaged section before testing the network to identify any further faults.

To help residents understand the complexity of the repairs, the electricity network operates from the Germiston Tech Substation, which serves as the main intake point for Eskom’s electricity supply.

From Germiston Tech, electricity is distributed through three major cables. One supplies Albany, another feeds the Elsburg Road Substation, while the third supplies the Chapman Substation.

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The Elsburg Road Substation distributes power to Germiston, Georgetown, Delville, parts of Lambton and Parkhill Gardens. The Chapman Substation supplies Denlee, Rand Airport, Gosforth Park and Elandsfontein through one cable, while another feeds the Russell Substation, which in turn supplies Hazel Park, Hazeldene, parts of Lambton, Castleview, Stone Arch, Mimosa Park, Lambton Gardens and Estera.

Ward 39 councillor Jean Ingram said she visited the substation and witnessed the damaged cable.

She explained that when the cable failed, it created a power surge that resulted in additional faults along the network.

“The repair process is not as simple as fixing one fault and restoring power. Technicians must first locate and repair a fault, then test the cable to determine whether there are any additional faults further along the line. If another fault is detected, they have to excavate, repair that section and test the cable again. This process is repeated until the entire cable tests clear and is safe to be re-energised,” said Ingram.

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She added that many residents have questioned what caused the initial cable failure. While the City has not yet confirmed the cause, Ingram said she suspects the cable may have been weakened by multiple previous repairs and joints resulting from cable theft incidents. She stressed that this remains her opinion and has not been officially confirmed.

The Energy Department said repair teams remain on site, and further updates will be provided as work progresses. Residents are urged to remain patient while technicians work to safely restore electricity to all affected areas.