City Power calls for increased police patrols after substation fire

City Power’s acting CEO Charles Tlouane has called for increased police patrols and security visibility across the Johannesburg CBD following a fire at the Central Substation and continued incidents of theft and vandalism targeting electricity infrastructure in the Inner City.

The fire occurred on September 8 and affected electricity supply to parts of Marshalltown, City and Suburban, Johannesburg Central and Selby.

It was the second fire at the substation within two weeks.

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Investigations into the cause of the fire are still under way. However, City Power suspects illegal activity in the underground cable tunnels, including possible theft and vandalism, may have contributed to the incident.

Another suspected attempt was captured in a video released over the weekend. The footage shows a bridge of underground tunnels, with two people allegedly attempting to pull a cable through an open manhole, with the cable tied behind a minibus taxi.

The incident occurred while parts of the network were offline due to the fire at the Central Substation.

The footage is being reviewed and will be shared with the relevant law enforcement agencies for further investigation.

Tlouane has called for increased police patrols and security visibility across the CBD to help protect critical electricity infrastructure amid ongoing concerns over theft and vandalism.