City Power has reported a widespread power outage affecting several areas in the South of Johannesburg following an explosion on the 11kV power lines supplied from the Orlando Switching Station.
As a result of the power outage, Rand Water’s Eikenhof Booster Station experienced a power failure at approximately 02:00 on Thursday, 16 July 2026, resulting in the interruption of pumping operations. The Eikenhof Booster Station receives its electricity supply from a City Power Substation. The interruption in pumping operations may lead to the depletion of water levels at the following Rand Water reservoirs:- Meredale
- Waterval
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Weltevreden
- Witpoortjie
- Libanon
- Driefontein
- Rustenburg and Barnardsvlei.
Administration, may experience water supply disruptions. Various industries, mines and direct customers may also be affected.
Areas supplied by these reservoirs are likely to experience low water pressure or intermittent water supply until pumping operations resume. City Power technical teams are on site attending to the fault and investigating the cause of the outage. Rand Water operators remain at the Eikenhof Booster Station to support the restoration process and facilitate the safe resumption of pumping operations as soon as the power supply is restored. According to City Power, electricity supply is expected to be fully restored during the course of the day. City Power and Rand Water will continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide updates as soon as additional information becomes available.
