Only one Johannesburg suburb remained without power on Wednesday evening after electricity was restored to 80% of the areas affected by a power failure, a City Power spokesperson said.
Sol Masolo said City Power technicians were busy replacing damaged cables to ensure that the electricity supply was restored to Selby in southern Johannesburg.
This follows an electrical fire in an underground cable system below Commissioner Street on Wednesday morning that caused power failures in some parts of the Johannesburg CBD.
Masolo said this may have been caused by people trying to steal cables from the underground chambers.
”I cannot estimate the time it will take our technicians to finish, but if we don’t finish early this evening, it would mean they will work all night.”
Masolo said City Power was working with the Johannesburg metro police to determine who the culprits behind Wednesday’s power failure were.
Areas affected by the power cut included Newtown and the Johannesburg central business district. — Sapa