Power fully restored at Rand Water's Mapleton Substation in Ekurhuleni - EWN

Power has been fully restored at Rand Water's Mapleton Substation in Ekurhuleni, following damage caused by a lightning strike on Monday night.

Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza and Deputy Water and Sanitation Minister David Mahlobo confirmed that the substation has been back online for about 5 hours, with power capacity now at 100%.

They assured residents that Rand Water's pumping operations have also recovered to more than 73%, with water flowing through the system.

The outage left Ekurhuleni and other parts of Gauteng without water for most of Tuesday.

The restoration of power is expected to allow water to be pumped to reservoirs, including Brakpan and Vlakfontein, as the system recovers.

Officials said the reservoirs are expected to fill up overnight, with water supply to affected communities expected to improve in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The disruption affected communities including Langaville, Tsakane, Duduza, as well as Etwatwa and Tarlton.

Authorities are urging residents to use water sparingly while the system recovers, with the city saying it wants to avoid full water restrictions.