Power outage in Pimville linked to faulty transformer

City Power has confirmed that a power outage affecting customers in Pimville Zone 9 is due to a faulty transformer that went offline on January 16.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the utility is aware of the outage and has engaged with the community to address concerns.

“An engagement was held with the community on January 26 to address residents’ concerns, which we are taking seriously. Feedback from this engagement is being considered as part of the ongoing intervention,” said Mangena.

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He explained that the restoration process will only commence once a vending audit has been completed to determine electricity consumption in the area.

“This audit is necessary (and it is done across the City of Johannesburg) to establish whether more than 80% of customers are fed from that supply point that they are legally purchasing electricity, as illegal connections, vandalism, and electricity theft have a significant impact on our revenue collection as City Power, which we really rely on to deliver and sustain services. These factors directly affect infrastructure stability and the feasibility of long-term repairs of outages,” he said.

Mangena added that customers will be required to make a once-off purchase of R500 or more for the supply to be restored.

“Our team will be on site to begin the vending audit process. Once the audit is completed, City Power will be in a position to finalise the scope of repairs and provide a clearer timeline for restoration in the area,” he said.

He appealed for calm among affected customers while teams work to source a replacement transformer.
“We sincerely apologise to all affected customers for the inconvenience caused,” Mangena said.

However, the community has grown increasingly impatient over the prolonged power outage.

Despite the January 26 engagements, residents took to the streets, blocking roads and burning tyres to voice their anger on the night of January 28.

Reports indicate that food has gone to waste, while vulnerable patients have been unable to preserve medication that requires refrigeration.

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Ward 22 Clr Sebenzile Mabuza confirmed that the protest was driven by frustration over transformer failures and delays in replacement.

“The protest took place after residents had been without power for about two weeks due to two transformers that had completely failed and could not be repaired,” Mabuza said.

She explained that prior to the community meeting, her office had logged calls with City Power, but the utility indicated it was struggling to procure replacement transformers due to constraints.

“We called a public meeting and invited City Power to address the community directly. City Power attended and explained the challenges, including procurement processes and the need for system normalisation before restoration,” she said.

However, she noted that residents were frustrated by the lack of a clear restoration timeline.

“The community understands explanations, but ultimately, what they want is electricity. The areas where transformers have completely failed are the most affected, and that is where tensions escalated,” Mabuza said.

She added that her office is still awaiting detailed feedback from City Power management and will continue engaging the utility to ensure residents receive clear communication and updates.