The South African Fire Risk Context
PSG Insure's 2025 risk review placed fire as the most financially damaging risk for South African businesses — above cybercrime, weather events, transport losses, and infrastructure failure. The report noted that many incidents were directly linked to electrical faults, aged wiring, and overloaded systems. Others resulted from inadequate maintenance of fire-suppression equipment and non-compliance with safety regulations.
Globally, approximately 30% of all fires in industrial settings originate from electrical malfunctions. In South Africa, the proportion is compounded by the age of the installed electrical base and the effects of load-shedding and power instability on electrical infrastructure.
30%
of industrial fires caused by electrical malfunctions globally
#1
business risk in South Africa in 2025 (PSG Insure)
40%
of global energy consumption originates from buildings
Why South African Facilities Face Elevated Risk
Several factors specific to the South African context elevate electrical fire risk above the global average:
- Ageing electrical infrastructure — a significant proportion of commercial and industrial installations in South Africa were commissioned in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Cable insulation degrades over time, terminations loosen through thermal cycling, and switchgear components wear beyond their design life. Without regular inspection, these degradation processes are invisible until failure occurs.
- Load-shedding effects — the repeated switching of electrical loads on and off during load-shedding cycles accelerates termination loosening through thermal expansion and contraction. Voltage transients during switching damage sensitive components. Generators and UPS systems introduce harmonic loads that stress neutral conductors and upstream infrastructure.
- Load growth without infrastructure upgrades — operations expand, equipment is added, and electrical loads grow over time. Distribution infrastructure that was correctly sized for original loads frequently operates at or above capacity when re-assessed. Overloaded circuits and conductors are among the most common findings in thermographic surveys of older installations.
- Deferred maintenance — economic pressures have led many facilities to defer electrical maintenance. Routine checks, termination re-torquing, and switchgear servicing are often the first items cut from maintenance budgets. The consequences accumulate invisibly until a thermal event occurs.
- Power quality issues — poor power quality from the grid, harmonics from variable speed drives and other non-linear loads, and the effects of embedded generation all introduce stresses on electrical infrastructure that were not present when most installations were designed.
The Cost of an Electrical Fire
The financial consequences of an electrical fire in a commercial or industrial facility extend well beyond the cost of the physical damage. A fire that damages a main switchroom or MCC can result in:
- Full operational shutdown for days or weeks during repairs
- Business interruption losses that may exceed the property damage cost
- Loss of perishable stock, work-in-progress, and raw materials
- Increased insurance premiums at renewal or policy cancellation
- Regulatory investigations and potential liability exposure
- Reputational damage with customers and supply chain partners
For many businesses, a significant electrical fire is an existential event. Insurance covers some of the direct costs, but business interruption and reputational damage are much harder to recover.
The Role of Thermographic Inspection in Prevention
Thermographic inspection addresses electrical fire risk at its source. By detecting heat signatures produced by developing faults — loose terminations, overloaded circuits, failing components — before those faults escalate to fires, thermography provides a verifiable intervention point in the failure chain.
The economics are straightforward. The cost of a thermographic survey is a fraction of the excess on a commercial property fire claim. The cost of fixing a P1 (Critical) fault finding is a fraction of the cost of a survey. The cost of a fire is orders of magnitude larger than either.
Critical finding: what happens if you ignore a P1?
A Priority 1 (Severe) finding in a thermographic report indicates a ΔT of 31°C or greater versus reference — representing imminent risk of failure and fire, often described as a burning cable condition. In our survey experience, P1 findings are almost always traceable to loose terminations, severely overloaded conductors, or failing components that are weeks to months from catastrophic failure. An insurer who becomes aware of an unaddressed P1 finding may treat subsequent fire damage as an uninsured loss.
What Facility Managers Should Do
Practical steps to reduce electrical fire risk in your facility:
- Schedule a thermographic survey if your last survey was more than 12 months ago, or if you have no survey on record
- Ensure the survey covers all MV and LV switchgear, distribution boards, motor control centres, and critical process equipment
- Address all P1 and P2 findings immediately — these represent active risk, not future maintenance items
- Document corrective actions taken in response to survey findings — this documentation is as important as the survey itself for insurance purposes
- Establish a recurring annual survey programme — a single survey is a snapshot; annual surveys establish the baseline and trend data that underwriters prefer
Assess Your Electrical Fire Risk
Enisave Solutions conducts insurance-grade thermographic surveys across South Africa. Our reports identify, classify, and prioritise every finding for corrective action.
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