Second explosion at Mayfair substation cuts power across Johannesburg
2026Published 14 Nov 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
Get the next one by email
Free alerts on grid infrastructure incidents in South Africa, and an email when EIR-2902 is updated. No account needed; unsubscribe in one click.
Confirm your email and every substation and transformer incident on the register arrives at once as a spreadsheet (CSV), free.
Get a free sample brief Three complete verified records and the incidents-per-GW table, by email within a minute.
We will also email you about the register's paid records and plans, at most once a week and three times in all. You can stop these at any time. By signing up you agree to the privacy policy.
Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): City Power
What happened
City Power reported a second explosion at its Mayfair Substation in Johannesburg at about 6pm on a Monday evening, shortly after technical teams began restoring supply. The utility said the secondary blast knocked out the entire substation, cutting power to customers who had not been affected by the first incident, and that the area had regained electricity only briefly. The fire department attended and contained the situation before extensive damage could occur.
The area was cordoned off pending a safety declaration. Areas reported as affected included Mayfair, Crown, Vrededorp, Brixton, Crosby, Pageview, Homestead Park and Amalgam, along with the SABC's Auckland Park premises and Garden City Hospital, where City Power said essential services, including water supply, had been disrupted. The cause of the explosion is unknown and is subject to investigation. No restoration timeline had been given.
Contributing factors
The cause has not been established. City Power said it would be investigated. The second explosion occurred while technical teams were restoring supply, but no link to the restoration work has been stated.
Lessons learned
- Restoring supply to a damaged substation can expose faulty or damaged equipment, so operators should confirm the site is safe before re-energising and should not treat a partial restoration as complete.
- Substations that supply hospitals and other essential services need backup supply and priority restoration plans that can be activated quickly.
- Restoration plans should assume a secondary failure, with isolation, fire response and cordon procedures ready before work resumes.
More lessons on outages, backup supply and restoration, worker safety and safe systems of work, from every incident on the register.
Source
Other entries that name Mayfair
Published 2026-11-14. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
