City Power Maintenance to Cause Extended Outages in Joburg Areas

Johannesburg residents in several suburbs should brace for prolonged power cuts next week as City Power carries out essential maintenance work at its Observatory substation.

The scheduled outage will take place on Thursday, 3 April, from 8 AM to 2 PM, affecting the following areas:

• Observatory North

• Kensington Ext 5

• Bezvalley East

• Cyrildene North

• Bezvalley/Kensington

• Cyrildene Central

• Doornfontein

• Bruma

• Dewetshof

• Langerman

City Power has urged residents to treat all electrical points as live, as power may be restored at any time during or after the maintenance work.

More Outages Expected Over the Weekend

In addition to the weekday power cuts, another scheduled outage will take place on Sunday, 30 March, affecting the Mondeor substation from 8 AM to 4 PM. The impacted areas include:

• Alan Manor

• Kibler Park

• Meredale (including Ext 2, Ext 4, Ext 9, and Ext 26)

• Mondeor (including Ext 3, Ext 4, and Ext 5)

• Naturena

• Ridgeway (including Ext 4, Ext 5, and Ext 8)

• Suideroord

• Winchester Hills Ext 1

Why Johannesburg Faces Constant Power Cuts

City Power has disclosed that aging infrastructure, electricity theft, and billing failures have cost the utility billions annually. In the past year alone, technical losses amounted to R1.5 billion, while non-technical losses exceeded R2 billion.

CEO Tshifularo Mashava explained that from 2005 to 2010, the utility focused on expansion rather than upgrading outdated systems, a decision that has worsened current power challenges.

“Now, in 2025, the consequences of those past decisions have caught up with us. If we don’t change our infrastructure, these losses will continue to grow. The auditor-general has flagged this issue, as we had the responsibility to address it years ago,” said Mashava.

To improve service delivery, City Power has secured alternative funding with the support of its shareholder. The aim is to sustain ongoing maintenance work and reduce future outages.

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Sourced:The Citizen