By Johnathan Paoli
Residents across the City of Tshwane have endured a prolonged and disruptive festive season after widespread power outages left several suburbs without electricity for up to six days and counting, exposing deep challenges in the metro’s ageing electricity infrastructure, capacity constraints and vulnerability to vandalism and cable theft.
The outages, which began following a major hailstorm and were later worsened by fires at key substations, have affected large parts of Pretoria, including Sunnyside, Queenswood, Brooklyn, Colbyn, Wonderboom South, Arcadia, Menlo Park, Mayville, Waverley, Groenkloof, Rietfontein, Gezina and Sunset View.
Additional areas such as Kilner Park, Koedoespoort, Pumulani and Waltloo have also experienced sustained disruptions, while communities in the city’s southern and western regions were hit by a separate substation fire at Olievenhoutbosch.
DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink said on Saturday that the capital was entering its sixth consecutive day of a widespread blackout, describing the situation as a full-blown crisis for households, businesses and vulnerable residents.
While the initial cause was linked to a hailstorm last Sunday, Brink argued that the weather event was not severe enough to justify the scale and duration of the outages.
“What was unusual was not the storm, but the city’s inability to respond decisively. Tshwane’s electricity infrastructure is fragile, and there are simply not enough teams or resources to deal with emergencies of this nature. Elderly residents, families and businesses have been left in the dark with no clear timelines,” Brink said.
Brink further blamed budget cuts to basic services, alleging that electricity infrastructure investment had been deprioritised in favour of other spending under the ANC-led coalition government.
City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo, however, said vandalism and criminal activity played a significant role in the crisis, particularly at the Koedoespoort and Olievenhoutbosch substations.
Mashigo confirmed that the Koedoespoort Substation building was completely destroyed by fire, with four feeder panels damaged, resulting in widespread supply interruptions.
As part of emergency safety measures, technicians isolated the Rooiwal 132kV line, affecting electricity supply to the Pumulani, Waltloo and Koedoespoort substations and the areas they serve.
Additional lines were also isolated to allow emergency operations and technical assessments to proceed safely.
“The full extent of the damage remains unknown at this stage, and an estimated time of restoration is not yet available. This work involves rebuilding critical infrastructure and must be carried out in a controlled and safe manner,” Mashigo said, adding that the scale of destruction meant that full restoration could take several days.
Mashigo said emergency services remained on site, but extremely high temperatures inside the damaged Koedoespoort substation building had delayed access for technical teams.
Once conditions allow, assessments will continue, alongside a short-term plan to restore power through network reconfiguration, testing Transformer 2B, and using alternative feeder panels to support damaged lines.
In parallel, the city has reported progress at the 132/11kV Olievenhoutbosch Substation, where a fire caused by the tampering of a live feeder cable led to extensive damage and outages across Zwartkop, Highveld, Eco Park, Kosmosdal, Blue Valley, Louwlardia, Rua Vista, Thatchfield and parts of Olievenhoutbosch.
According to the city, testing on Transformer R has been successfully completed, while the installation and rerouting of new 11kV feeder cables is about 60% complete.
Oil circulation for both transformers is expected to begin shortly, followed by a 24-hour soaking period before energisation and final circuit breaker testing.
Despite these updates, frustration remains high among residents and opposition parties.
DA Tshwane spokesperson for Utilities Themba Fosi warned that the metro’s electrical grid had reached a breaking point, citing a dangerous combination of ageing infrastructure, inadequate preventative maintenance and criminal activity.
“In recent months, we’ve seen an alarming surge in substation fires. These are not minor faults; they are catastrophic failures that result in prolonged blackouts, economic losses and serious safety risks,” Fosi said.
He added that many substations lacked basic fire suppression systems, smoke detection and physical firebreaks, allowing small faults to escalate into total infrastructure loss.
For now, the city says communities in Queenswood, Kilner Park and Koedoespoort remain without power until further notice, while restoration continues in affected areas across Tshwane.
Mashigo said the municipality remained committed to providing regular updates and restoring electricity in a safe and structured manner, but acknowledged that residents may still face several days of uncertainty as repairs continue.
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