---
title: "Over 1,200 City Power outages in two weeks leave Joburg buckling"
description: "Johannesburg faces a worsening electricity crisis with more than 1,200 outages in two weeks, raising concerns of corruption and operational failures at City Power."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "POWER CRISIS"
author: "Anna Cox"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/anna-cox/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-07-13-over-1200-city-power-outages-in-two-weeks-leave-joburg-buckling/"
published: "2026-07-13T14:32:47"
updated: "2026-07-13T14:34:09"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 901
---

# Over 1,200 City Power outages in two weeks leave Joburg buckling

> Johannesburg faces a worsening electricity crisis with more than 1,200 outages in two weeks, raising concerns of corruption and operational failures at City Power.

By Anna Cox · Published 13 July 2026, 16:32 SAST · Updated 13 July 2026, 16:34 SAST

## Key points
- Johannesburg’s electricity crisis has escalated with over 1,200 outages in just two weeks, straining communities and businesses.
- City Power faces allegations of corruption, operational failures, and complaints of extortion linked to ongoing power shortages.
- Officials report trucks idle and parts missing, while residents suffer prolonged blackouts, some lasting up to 20 days.
- City Power disputes claims of collapse, attributing issues to infrastructure faults, but the public remains sceptical amid rising frustration.

## Content

Johannesburg’s electricity crisis has intensified into a citywide emergency, with more than 1,200 outages since 1 July crippling neighbourhoods and businesses. Councillors warn City Power is buckling under the weight of repeated failures, idle fleets and mounting allegations of corruption.

Oversight visits to depots have revealed trucks standing idle, stores lacking critical spares, and officials unable to properly account for outstanding faults.

Ward 118 councillor Neuren Pietersen said the centralised fault reporting system at Reuven depot was failing to allocate complaints effectively: *“*Things are getting worse. Trucks are standing, there are no parts and stores are empty, and this is leading to extortion and bribery.”

Residents across Malvern, Cyrildene, Observatory and Dewetshof have endured blackouts lasting from several days to more than 20 days, with dangerous voltage spikes exceeding 300 volts and repairs failing within days.

Other areas affected by outages on Monday include: Sandton, Bryanston, Hurlingham, Craighall Park, the inner city, Rispark, Naturena, Southfork, Kibler Park, Comptonville, Alveda Park, Devland, Mayfield Park, and areas around Midrand.

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Pietersen warned: *“*The theft of breakers spikes when there are many outstanding outages. Working substations and electricity boxes are being stripped of components to restore supply elsewhere, while in other cases there are reports of cables being deliberately cut before residents are approached and offered repairs for payment.”

Ward 66 councillor Carlos Da Rocha said his constituency in Bez Valley and Kensington had been particularly hard hit, with outages stretching up to three weeks.

“They keep giving us official restoration times, but they can say what they want because no one can prove anything different. They are just trying to pacify residents,” he said.

“If City Power has indeed collapsed due to financial or operational difficulties, they must address the public directly. Until such a statement is made, I will attribute the current state of service delivery to total incompetence by City Power management.”

Da Rocha added: “I am receiving consistent reports of corruption and extortion in my area, with officials and contractors allegedly demanding money from residents for repairs. There appear to be two parallel systems operating: the official City Power service during the day, and a night‑time operation run by contractors who only work after payments are extorted from residents.”

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Richard Francis, Community Policing Forum chairperson, confirmed at least 10 complaints of extortion: “We urge residents not to pay bribes. We realise people are desperate out there, but these extortionists are taking full advantage and are probably making things worse for everyone.”

### City Power’s response

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena rejected claims of collapse: “These are largely driven by infrastructure faults, cable theft, vandalism, ageing infrastructure and network overloading. The number of outages changes continuously throughout the day as new faults are reported, existing faults are resolved and incidents are reclassified following technical assessments.”

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He denied that restoration times were automated: “These updates are not automated without assessment and are informed by operational teams on the ground.”

On extortion, Mangena said: “Customers are repeatedly warned never to make payments directly to employees, contractors or any individual claiming to represent the utility.”

He added: “City Power does not authorise the removal of network infrastructure from one area to restore supply elsewhere. Should any employee or contractor be found to have engaged in such conduct, it would constitute serious misconduct and potentially criminal behaviour.”

Mangena said that vehicles seen idle at depots may be awaiting shift changes, safety briefings or clearance to access vandalised sites, and that prolonged outages were linked to faults, theft, vandalism and access constraints.

### **One ward’s outages**

Pietersen, the Ward 118 councillor, sent a list of recent outages in his area, showing the extent of the current problem:

*All faults listed below fall under the operational responsibility of the inner-city depot.*

***CRITICAL SAFETY FAILURE – HIGH VOLTAGE (300–369V)***

*Orion / Orwell / Derby Cluster*

*• Repeated neutral failures*

*• Breakers burning out*

*• Temporary connections failing within hours*

*• Voltage spikes above 300V*

*• Burning cables and explosion‑risk conditions*

*This is a life‑safety hazard requiring immediate executive intervention*

***20+ DAYS WITHOUT POWER***

*Cyrildene – Tainton Street*

*Malvern – St Frusquin Street*

***14–20 DAYS WITHOUT POWER***

*Kensington – Derby Road*

*Malvern – Jules Street*

*Malvern – 11th Street*

*Malvern – Twentieth Street*

*Cyrildene – Rollo Street cluster*

*Observatory – Eckstein Street*

***10–13 DAYS WITHOUT POWER***

*Kensington – Ocean Street*

*Malvern – Persimmon Street cluster*

*Kensington – Pandora Road*

*Cyrildene – Silas & Siegfried cluster*

***5–9 DAYS WITHOUT POWER***

*Cyrildene – Beryl Street*

*Cyrildene – Christeen Avenue*

*Cyrildene – Cooper Street*

*Cyrildene – Daphne Street*

*Cyrildene – Marcia Street*

*Cyrildene – Friedland Avenue*

*Cyrildene – Hastings Avenue*

*Kensington – Orwell Street cluster*

*Kensington – Protea Street*

*Malvern – 20th Street*

*Malvern – 32nd / 33rd / 30th Street cluster*

*Dewetshof – Da Gama Street*

*Dewetshof – Turnstone Street*

*Dewetshof – Aida Avenue*

*Dewetshof – Dias Street*

*Dewetshof – Tulbach Street*

*Observatory – Observatory Avenue*

***1–4 DAYS WITHOUT POWER***

*Cyrildene – Devon Road*

*Cyrildene – Bayne Avenue*

*Cyrildene – Silas Street*

*Kensington – Derby Road (partial supply)*

*Malvern – 10th Street*

*Malvern – St Amant Street*

*Dewetshof – multiple streets (post‑Sebenza instability)*

*Observatory – Bez Valley East feeder.***DM**