City Power has decided not to respond to outage calls from the affected residents, following Wednesday’s explosion that plunged residents in the Johannesburg CBD into darkness.
Three of City Power’s substations, namely Bree, John Ware, and Braamfontein substations, are located within the vicinity of the explosion and have been turned off for safety reasons.
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City Power’s spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, explained that these three interconnected substations will remain inactive until both the provincial command center and municipal emergency services deem it safe to reactivate them.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the substations were not immediately affected by the explosion, as power in some areas remained functional.
However, as a precaution, the substations were load shed between six to eight in the evening.
City Power’s teams made the decision not to switch them on, given the concerns about possible gas leaks in the area that could lead to ignition.
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Due to the ongoing safety concerns in the CBD, particularly near the explosion site, City Power’s teams will not be addressing any outage calls until the area is officially declared safe, said Mangena.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, and other city officials conducted a visit to the affected area on Thursday morning to assess the extent of the damage caused by the explosion.
