City Power probes possible criminal link to central substation fire
City Power is investigating a possible criminal link to a fire at its Central Substation in Johannesburg, after a severely burned man was found at a nearby healthcare facility.
The fire reportedly started at about 04:00 on Saturday, causing another electricity outage affecting customers in Marshalltown and surrounding parts of the Johannesburg CBD.
According to City Power, Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) Chief Themba Jaca activated a search of nearby healthcare facilities after information emerged that a person had allegedly pulled himself out of the smoke-filled underground cable tunnels.
The man was found at Hillbrow Clinic, where he was reportedly admitted at about 04:10 before being transferred to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. He remains under police guard.
City Power Acting CEO Charles Tlouane said the utility believed the incident could be linked to a wider pattern of vandalism and cable theft.
“We welcome the arrest of the suspect, whom we believe may be linked to the spate of vandalism and cable theft incidents in the Inner City,” Tlouane said.
He said City Power had requested Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni to assign a specialised investigative team and increase patrols around critical electricity infrastructure.
The latest fire is the third reported at Central Substation this year, following incidents in April and September.
Emergency Management Services remains at the site as smoke continues to prevent technical teams from accessing the underground tunnels. City Power said it cannot provide an estimated restoration time until the damage has been assessed.
The utility is exploring alternative supply points to restore power to some affected customers.
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