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City Power has restored 24% of electricity supply in the Joburg CBD after fire damage near the M1 caused widespread blackouts.
The M1 fire damaged about 200 metres of the 88 kV circuit between the Braamfontein and Fordsburg substations. Picture: Supplied.
City Power says it has successfully restored about 24% of electricity for Johannesburg CBD customers who were affected by the M1 blaze, which damaged infrastructure and caused widespread power outages.
City Power officials, the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) mayor Dada Morero, Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) Chief of Police Patrick Jaca and CoJ Emergency Management Services (EMS) officials inspected progress at the M1 Double Decker section near Smit Street on Friday morning.
The fire broke out on Thursday morning and damaged underground infrastructure, which caused power outages in Braamfontein, Parktown West, Newtown Junction, De Korte North, Smith West, and surrounding areas.
City Power confirmed that 24% of power has been restored by 3.17pm, through back-feeding, to several areas, including Juta Street, Eendracht Street, Smit Street West, and parts of Wolmarans Street.
The blaze damaged about 200 metres of the 88kV circuit between the Braamfontein and Fordsburg substations.
A full-on investigation into the cause of the fire will be conducted when EMS gives City Power clearance to assess the damage, but preliminary indications point to suspected cable theft and vandalism.
ALSO READ: Cable theft and vandalism suspected to be behind M1 fire
Although sections of the tunnels remain hot, once the area is declared safe and mop-up operations are complete, the team will proceed with isolating and removing the damaged cables.
City Power chief operating officer Charles Tlouane explained that the recovery plan will be influenced by the interconnected cables previously installed, which will help in reconnecting customers.
“The interconnected cables are going to assist us to back-feed as we restored them in the past year,” Tlouane said.
“But the ones that are damaged, we have to replace them, and then it’s going to take a few days, but within those few days, we’ll give a clear brief as to whether we’ll be able to do load rotation or we’ll be able to back-feed everyone.”
Efforts are also underway to connect one of the two medium-voltage (MV) feeder cables from Bree Substation to supply Wits University, with completion expected by midday on Saturday, if all goes according to plan.
In addition, teams are clearing debris from the high-voltage (HV) circuits to facilitate repair works.
ALSO READ: Fire under M1 highway in Joburg causes traffic disruptions and power outages (VIDEOS)
The mayor emphasised that the teams are working around the clock to ensure that power is restored.
Chief Jaca lamented the fact that a similar incident happened on 1 May 2024 and said there appears to be a pattern of attacks on infrastructure.
“We are having a pattern of destruction that is happening here, and we hope that the investigation will lead us somewhere after City Power has done its work,” he said.
City Power said evidence suggests that the fire was intended to trip the network, creating an opportunity to dismantle and steal cable from within the tunnels.
It is suspected that the perpetrators may have accessed the tunnels via open manholes in the CBD.
Meanwhile, the power utility urged affected customers to reduce their electricity usage and called on businesses to be mindful of their consumption during peak hours.
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“Our teams are scheduled to work through the night to expedite the repair process. City Power appeals to residents to remain patient and use electricity sparingly to prevent overloading,” the utility said.
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