City Power has attributed ongoing power outages in parts of Randburg to persistent heavy rainfall, which has damaged ageing electricity infrastructure, leaving some residents without electricity for several days.

According to City Power, sustained wet weather over the past few weeks has resulted in multiple cable and equipment faults across the network, slowing down repair work and creating a surge in outage-related complaints.

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City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the Randburg Service Delivery Centre (SDC) has been under significant pressure due to the volume of reported outages. “The persistent heavy rainfall has contributed to delays in resolving some of the prolonged power outages in the Randburg area. These wet conditions have caused extensive damage to our already ageing infrastructure, leading to multiple faults across the network.”

He added that areas, such as Ferndale, Robindale, and surrounding streets, have been particularly affected, with outage calls increasing sharply. “Over the weekend, outage-related calls averaged over 200 at the Randburg SDC. This number has increased to around 300 this week due to outages that could not be resolved over the weekend.”

City Power received reports of outages from customers in Kent Street, Ash Street, Maid Marion Street, and nearby routes. However, response times were affected by unsafe working conditions caused by heavy rainfall. “Due to the heavy rains, our teams were unable to respond timeously as it was unsafe to work under those conditions.”

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A team dispatched on Tuesday confirmed that the outage was caused by burnt jumpers at a mini-substation. “Our team has identified burnt jumpers as the cause of the outage and is currently sourcing the necessary materials to replace the damaged equipment. Once this is done, power supply will be restored. ”

City Power began electricity restoration repairs on Tuesday.

Mangena said additional resources have been deployed to speed up repairs and support teams on the ground. “We have deployed extra resources and ensured that materials are available to accelerate the repair process. We will continue to provide updates as work progresses.

“We acknowledge the frustration and inconvenience caused by these outages and sincerely apologise to all affected customers.”

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