Power crisis forces some Johannesburg inner-city residents to move

October 13, 2026 31

A Johannesburg inner-city resident says she is being forced to relocate from her home after surviving six weeks without electricity in the inner city.

Sindiswa Hlela, who lives at the Colosseum building in Marshalltown, says the decision to move was unplanned, leaving her without the financial means to cover the unexpected expense.

Speaking to YNews on Tuesday, Hlela said living in Johannesburg’s inner city has initially been a matter of convenience, but the prolonged blackout has made her home increasingly difficult to sustain.

“I did not plan to move out. I was still happy with my life in the CBD. It’s convenient, it’s easy for me to get from A to B. It looked convenient, but due to the issues that City Power has been infringing on me, now I’m forced to move. It is not planned, I do not have the money for it, but what else can I do? Because even right now, we are still in the dark. There’s no hope. It’s like we will never have electricity ever again. So, I am forced to move out.”

The disgruntled residents says electricity has not been restored since the first fire at the Central Substation in early September which plunged large parts of the inner city into darkness.

The first fire broke out on 6 September, with electricity restored on 8 September. A second fire followed in the early hours of 9 September, while a third broke out on 26 September, triggering another outage.

City Power has previously clarified that these were separate incidents, saying approximately 98% of the network affected by the second fire had been restored by 25 September, before the third fire occurred the following day.

The utility says its technical teams have since been working to repair damaged infrastructure, address additional network faults and progressively restore electricity to affected customers. It says the work has involved extensive technical interventions and safety assessments to ensure a safe and reliable supply.

Following the 26 September incident, City Power reported that it had restored 96% of the affected electricity supply, with outstanding work in Selby West and Selby East.

However, another fire broke out at the Central Substation on Tuesday, 13 October, burning out feederboard 4 and triggering a fresh electricity outage affecting Marshalltown, parts of the inner city, Wemmer, Selby and sections of Albert, Eloff, Commissioner and Anderson streets.

City Power says the cause of the latest fire has not yet been established and remains under investigation. Johannesburg Emergency Management Services and City Power Protection personnel are on site, but smoke and fire have prevented technical teams from safely accessing the underground cable tunnel.

The utility says technicians will assess the damage and determine the necessary repairs once safety clearance has been granted.

The recurring outages have disrupted daily routines, affected residents working remotely and left households facing mounting costs for spoiled food and basic necessities.

An anonymous resident from the same building shared similar frustrations, saying more than a month without electricity had made living conditions unbearable. Those who cannot afford to relocate remain trapped in difficult circumstances, while others are being forced to leave.

“We haven’t not just felt the financial impact, but the emotional impact, also. Everyday, we have anxiety. We’re constantly wondering: are we going to get electricity today, is it going to be today, is it going to be tomorrow? And even when we get our electricity restored, we’re still living in anxiety because we’re constantly wondering when is the next outage going to be, when is the next smoke or fire going to happen at the central substation. It’s it’s so depressing. It really is depressing.”

Hlela and other affected residents say they now have little choice but to move, despite not having budgeted for the expense.

#CityPowerUpdates #CityPowerOutages #InnerCitySDC

Fourth fire at Central Substation burns out feederboad, triggering another outage. ^ZD https://t.co/Hc0zk74MJy

— @CityPowerJhb (@CityPowerJhb) October 13, 2026