‘It’s not safe’: Joburg residents battle days-long CBD power outage

Residents and businesses in parts of Johannesburg have spent days without electricity, with the prolonged outage affecting homes, businesses and access to basic services.

City Power said the outage was reported on Sunday, after smoke was detected at a substation. While some stations were subsequently recovered, the Bree Substation stayed offline, affecting customers in the Johannesburg CBD, Newtown and Hillbrow.

Among the customers affected are FNB, Joburg Water’s Turbine Hall, CBD Investment, Junction Mall, the South African Reserve Bank, Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), Luthuli House, Independent Newspapers and the Johannesburg Land Company.

City Power said an estimated time of restoration remained unknown.

For residents, the disruption has become about more than simply not having lights.

Thabiso Monyane, who lives in a flat in the CBD, said he was concerned about security in his building.

“The flat is so dark, and it doesn’t feel safe anymore,” he said.

Monyane said the building’s access gate operates on electricity, forcing residents to use a manual gate during the outage. “Everyone just goes in and out without being checked,” he said.

He said the darkness inside the building had also affected his daily routine and his sense of safety.

“I always make sure I lock my door and don’t go out of my room unnecessarily because when the corridors are dark, people can take advantage because of not being seen and the cameras not working. Having to throw away food is not a nice thing to experience.”

For businesses, the outage has brought direct financial losses.

Phumzile Mlangeni, who operates a hair salon on Rahima Moosa Street, said she had lost customers because she could not operate normally.

“This is affecting my business because I need electricity to function well. I’m losing customers because my regulars are going to other salons that have electricity,” she said.

Mlangeni said she was worried that customers who had found alternative salons might not return.

“I can’t afford to buy a generator. On Tuesday, I have even closed the salon, because what’s the point?”

For Palesa Mashatile, the outage has also disrupted access to water, adding another expense to an already stretched household budget.

“For three days my toddler had to bath with cold water, and on Monday we didn’t even have water,” she said.

Mashatile said she had to buy water from Shoprite for drinking and basic washing. “Just imagine not having the two most important things. How are we supposed to survive?” she asked.

Mashatile told TimesLIVE the additional cost was particularly difficult because she had already paid for household necessities.

“I don’t even have the budget for all that because I have already bought food, electricity and paid the metered water, so now I need to spend on things I have already paid for but don’t have access to.”

Mashatile acknowledged the seriousness of the incident that led to the outage but said residents needed clearer information about when their electricity would be restored.

“Yes, I understand the situation of the fire smoke that was detected, but I feel like they’re not making this their priority,” she said. She said repeated updates asking residents for patience were becoming frustrating.

“The feedback we keep getting from City Power on Twitter is not useful because it’s always, ‘Thank you for your understanding, we are working on it.’ I’m sick of that.”

City Power said further details would be provided as work to restore the affected supply continued.