The rolling power cuts around the country have led to frustrated residents taking matters into their own hands by trying to restore electricity illegally.
But City Power, the Johannesburg power entity, has warned against the habit after a resident from Crosby near Mayfair was admitted to the hospital following an explosion at a substation.
According to City Power, the substation blew up in the face of the man after he unlawfully opened it in an attempt to restore power.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said as a result of the explosion, the whole area is still in the dark as repairs are taking place. The incident happened a few weeks after the mini substation was refurbished.
“The area has been without electricity from Wednesday after the mini substation tripped on a suspected overload,” said Mangena.
“A call was logged with City Power and the team was finishing at one site before they could attend to the tripped mini substation. It seems the victim was working on the substation when it blew up.
“No resident is allowed to operate on the City Power network as this is not only illegal, but dangerous, as is the case with the incident in Crosby.”
Johannesburg MMC for environment and infrastructure Michael Sun visited the substation as the City Power team was fixing the damage.
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