News24 | Observatory substation fire: Thousands brace for week-long power outage after blaze guts control room

A fire at the Observatory Substation has resulted in power outages which may last as long as a week in some parts of Johannesburg.

• A fire damaged the Observatory substation in Johannesburg on Saturday morning.
• City Power said repairs could take up to a week, leaving numerous suburbs in the dark.
• The cause of the fire is being investigated.

An early morning fire gutted a control room that houses key operating elements of the Observatory substation and has resulted in power outages – which may last as long as a week – in some parts of Johannesburg.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the fire started around 03:00 and damaged "most of the equipment" inside the control room. 

"It affected power supply to several areas. We are currently doing mop-up operations and the teams are working hard to restore power to affected customers.

"Most of the damage was to cables underground, and those are the cables that we are supposed to now remove to ensure that we start cleaning up that space and conduct repairs in terms of the recovery and restoration plans," said Mangena. 

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The power utility said it was "hoping" to finish the repair works in the next five to seven days.

"We apologise to the customers that are affected by this," Mangena said. 

Teams are on site cleaning off carbon from the panels using dry ice. 

"We are also looking at other alternatives to ensure that we speed up the restoration process," said City Power. 

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Areas affected by the Observatory substation fire are: 

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