Explosion at Central Substation disrupts Johannesburg inner-city power supply

What happened

On Wednesday evening, 14 October 2026 (the date is inferred from the report, which refers to Wednesday evening and to a restoration target of Thursday 15 October), an explosion occurred at Central Substation in Johannesburg, according to City Power. The blast set back efforts to restore electricity to parts of the city that were already without power, including Marshalltown, Wemmer, Selby, parts of the Inner City, and sections of Albert, Eloff, Commissioner and Anderson Streets.

City Power said its technical teams were trying to restore supply through a newly installed feederboard when the blast happened, and smoke was coming from the substation. Emergency Management Services was on site attending the incident. The Selby incomer, which had failed a day earlier, failed again during the same restoration attempt. City Power said the extent of the damage and the cause of the explosion had not yet been established, and it could no longer confirm its earlier target of restoring most affected areas by midday on Thursday 15 October 2026. Injuries and the restoration outcome were not reported.

Contributing factors

Not established at the time of reporting. The Selby incomer had failed the previous day and failed again during the restoration attempt. City Power has not confirmed the cause of the blast.

Lessons learned

1. A failed incomer is a warning sign; verify its condition before re-energising supply through it.
2. Carry out a safety assessment before each switching step during restoration on a substation that has already faulted.
3. Keep the public away from substation, cable tunnel and manhole infrastructure during restoration, and publish clear updates on restoration timelines as facts are confirmed.

More lessons on outages, backup supply and restoration, electrical protection and isolation, from every incident on the register.

Source

citizen.co.za