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City Power Blames Cable Theft for Major Joburg Blackout, Warns of Grid Collapse

Published

4 months ago

May 5, 2025

taryn

City Power has appealed to residents in Johannesburg’s inner city to reduce their electricity usage following a major outage caused by cable theft and fire damage near the M1 highway.

On Thursday, a fire erupted in an underground tunnel close to the M1 double-decker, plunging large parts of the inner city into darkness. According to City Power, the blaze was triggered by criminals stealing copper cables, a crime that continues to threaten the city’s electricity infrastructure.

Backfeeding restores limited power – but grid remains unstable

In the wake of the outage, City Power has managed to restore power to most areas by using backfeeding – a method of rerouting electricity through alternate substations. This was done particularly through the Ford and Braamfontein substations. However, officials warn that this workaround is unstable and vulnerable to failure.

“What we have restored is really the work of the backfeeding that we have managed to put in place,” said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena. “We urge all our customers to exercise extreme caution, especially when they are using electricity to avoid overloading the network.”

City Power’s investigation linked the fire directly to copper cable theft. Criminals targeting high-value infrastructure caused not just an outage, but also extensive damage to underground systems, delaying full repairs. The utility says this is part of a growing trend that is placing Joburg’s power supply at constant risk.

City Power braces for post-holiday surge in usage

With the long weekend coming to an end, officials fear that returning residents will cause a spike in electricity consumption, which could overload the already fragile system. Mangena warned that overuse could lead to more blackouts.

“We wish to remind customers that the network remains under severe pressure, and any increase in consumption could lead to overloading and subsequently, further outages,” he said.

Residents urged to conserve electricity and report suspicious activity

City Power is calling on communities to help stabilise the grid. Residents are advised to:

Avoid using high-consumption appliances like heaters, geysers, and stoves during peak hours (5 PM to 9 PM).
Switch off lights and unplug devices when not in use.
Report cable theft or suspicious activity near infrastructure.

Mangena emphasized that preventing further outages would require collective responsibility. “Mindful electricity usage is essential while we complete repairs,” he said.