Fourth fire at Johannesburg Central substation cuts CBD power

What happened

A fire broke out at City Power's Central substation in Johannesburg on Tuesday afternoon, 13 October 2026, according to EWN and TimesLive. City Power described it as the fourth fire at the facility in roughly two months. The fire damaged feeder board 4 and caused a fresh power outage affecting Marshalltown, Wemmer, Selby, parts of the inner city and sections of Albert, Eloff, Commissioner and Anderson streets. Johannesburg Emergency Management Services and City Power Protection attended the scene.

Smoke and flames prevented technical teams from safely entering the underground cable tunnel, and engineers could only enter once safety clearance was granted. The cause of this fire had not been established at the time of reporting, and the extent of the damage was not yet known.

Contributing factors

Earlier fires at the same substation were linked by City Power to suspected theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure. The cause of the latest fire had not been established and was under investigation.

Lessons learned

1. Critical substations that have suffered repeated damage need physical security and surveillance reviewed, particularly for underground cable tunnels and chambers.
2. Restoration teams working on damaged equipment should be protected against a repeat event while repairs are still incomplete.
3. Operators should establish the cause of each fire quickly and record it, so that deliberate and accidental causes can be told apart and the right controls applied.

More lessons on theft, arson and site security, from every incident on the register.

Source

ewn.co.za