{
  "id": 17229851,
  "title": "‘I’ve been shocked three times’: Joburg residents zapped while showering, washing dishes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/ive-been-shocked-three-times-joburg-residents-zapped-while-showering",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-30T13:41:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/news/joburg-residents-sandringham-shocked-while-shower-washing-dishes-city-power/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In October, residents of Sandringham, Johannesburg, experienced electric shocks while showering and washing dishes due to dangerous voltage spikes. City Power switched off power supply to the affected customers in George Avenue as a safety precaution. Repairs would commence after replacement cable arrived, which could take up to a week.\n\nIsabella Rowan, a resident living in the area for 24 years, shared her shock in her bathtub on October 9th and three additional shocks within the period. She and her family were skeptical of using appliances due to the faulty electricity supply, but the issue remained unresolved for almost a month. The earth leakage kept tripping and switching on and off multiple times daily.\n\nDespite several attempts by technicians who found the voltage normal during testing, City Power only decided to replace the entire cable after 22 days, admitting that it caused the irregularities. Councillor Daniel Schay mentioned that City Power rarely provided feedback on such issues, often replying with a simple \"noted.\" City Power pointed out that the deteriorated conductor was the root cause of the problem, and the cable was on its way to resolve the issue.",
  "summary": "City Power said the issue could be fixed in about a week, but it could take longer.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}