Mayfair Substation fire leaves thousands without electricity
Joburg City Power says multiple technical teams are working to assess the extent of the damage
Early Sunday morning, a fire erupted at the Mayfair Substation in Johannesburg, causing thousands of residents, businesses, and essential facilities in areas like Mayfair, Auckland Park, Brixton, and nearby regions to lose power. City Power is currently evaluating the damage, which comprises seven damaged cables, a transformer, and electrical panels.
Technical teams and engineers are working diligently at the scene to clean carbon residue from the damaged infrastructure, assess the extent of the harm, and determine necessary repairs.
Heavy rain overnight has hampered restoration efforts, and an alternative power source was deemed unsafe due to potential network overload. Restoration work is anticipated to resume on Monday, contingent on the safe repair and confirmation of the damaged infrastructure. City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena emphasized the significant impact on critical customers, including the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in Auckland Park, Garden City Hospital in Mayfair, and businesses and residential customers in various areas, including Mayfair, Crown, Vrededorp, Brixton, Crosby, Pageview, Homestead Park, and Amalgam.
Written by urgent.news from SABC News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
