Electricity has returned to 50 Randpark Ridge households following a two-week power failure caused by a burnt-out and vandalised mini-substation.

Full supply returned at about 21:00 on October 5 after a replacement unit was delivered and installed. City Power stated in a release on October 6 that the outage was first reported on September 25.

Read more: Cable fault behind Randburg outage

City Power said the mini-substation winding burnt out and the unit was vandalised. A replacement was ordered on September 27 because the faulty unit could not be refurbished. “If a replacement unit is not available from stock, it can take approximately two weeks to source and deliver a replacement unit,” the utility said.

Ward 134 councillor Devon Steenkamp said the main delay was finding a replacement unit, as City Power repeatedly informed him that the supplier had no required units in stock. Steenkamp escalated the matter to the City Power chief operations officer, but was consistently told the utility was trying to source a unit.

Steenkamp expressed concern for elderly residents and those dependent on medical equipment. City Power informed him no generator was available, and a plan to supply the street via temporary cables from another mini-substation was abandoned due to the distance.

Confusion over outage location

Residents were also confused by City Power’s outage updates, which referred to Baker Street instead of Duiker Avenue. Carla van Veenendaal said she drew attention to the error on X, while Jamilla Hornsved noted that it remained uncorrected despite residents raising it.

City Power clarified that while it possesses generators, none had sufficient capacity to handle the load of the affected mini-substation, and larger units were deployed elsewhere. It added that nearby mini-substations were too far apart for temporary cabling, and technical teams had to prevent overloading adjacent infrastructure.

For residents, the weeks in the dark proved severe. Jamilla Hornsved (76) damaged her back carrying buckets of hot water from her kitchen to the bathroom. She added that her 69-year-old husband, Soren, had to walk continuously to the back of the house to operate their generator, at a cost of R500 a day.

Security compromised during darkness

The outage also compromised security by rendering electronic gates inoperable, forcing residents to use manual locks.

Van Veenendaal lent her tenants a power station, a backup battery station and a car fridge running off a car battery, which her tenant had to recharge at his business to keep alarm batteries, gates and Wi-Fi operational.

City Power admitted to the location error, stating the information was subsequently amended, and noted that the mistake did not impact response times as Randpark Ridge was correctly identified. Steenkamp called the mix-up unacceptable during an extended outage.

Prior to restoration, residents requested interim relief, with Hornsved urging City Power to provide temporary generators during prolonged equipment procurement.

Also read: NOTICE: Planned water outage in Ferndale

Claims for damages

City Power advised residents who suffered food loss or appliance damage to lodge a public liability claim via its website or by calling 011 490 7484 or 0800 202 925. Claims are assessed individually upon provision of the call-centre reference number, incident details, photos and claimed values.

Steenkamp noted that the incident highlights broader contingency planning failures within the municipality.

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