In the wake of a torrential rainstorm that swept through Johannesburg overnight, City Power has announced a substantial number of power outages affecting thousands of residents across the city. Isaac Mangena, spokesperson for City Power, provided an update this morning (March 6), revealing that the utility has received approximately 5 000 logged queries related to power cuts, primarily linked to the severe weather conditions.

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“This morning, we are dealing with significant pressure from outages caused by the rainstorms and flooding. The majority of the reported issues originated during the storms,” Mangena stated.

Randburg and Hursthill Service Delivery Centres (SDC) emerged as the most severely impacted areas, with several substations losing power supply. Key substations, such as North Riding and Olive Dale in Randburg and the Roosevelt Park substation in Hursthill, have been affected, leading to widespread outages in surrounding communities, including Windsor, Cresta, parts of Linden, RandPark, Sundowner, Kya Sands, and Bromhoff.

City Power is also contending with outages in Roodepoort, particularly in Wilgeheuwel Park and areas within the inner city. Mangena assured residents that teams are actively working on the ground to restore power and resolve the backlog of logged outages.

“While we have strengthened our operational teams to tackle this situation, localised flooding presents significant challenges for timely responses. Numerous roads are blocked or flooded, with uprooted trees and damaged infrastructure complicating our efforts,” explained Mangena.

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The spokesperson highlighted that soil erosion has exposed crucial cables, making fault location and repair work incredibly difficult, especially on wet surfaces. “The current conditions hinder our trenching operations, posing additional challenges as we strive to place new cables and restore power.”

City Power has appealed to customers for patience and understanding during this difficult time. “We acknowledge the frustration our customers are experiencing, and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this has caused,” Mangena added. “We appreciate the co-operation we are receiving from the community as we work to address these outages and ensure that power is restored as quickly as possible.”

As the storm subsides, City Power remains committed to resolving the situation and keeping residents informed on the progress of repairs.

Below is a video of the effects of the heavy rains:

@caxtonjoburgnorth Councillor Mark Van Der Merwe of ward 115, share the state of Platina Bridge in Jukskei Park after the floods. #floods #randburg ♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North

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