By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
City Power is urging customers across Johannesburg to reduce electricity consumption as the current cold and wet weather continues to place significant pressure on the electricity network, with thousands of outage calls remaining open across the City.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a series of weather warnings as a cold-front sweeps through the country.
The warnings, valid from Sunday 9 August through Tuesday 11 August, affect the Free State, Western Cape, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, southern parts of Gauteng and Mpumalanga, and the interior of KwaZulu-Natal.
The power utility spokesperson Isaac Mangena says the cold weather is increasing the use of heaters, geysers, stoves and other high-consumption appliances, putting additional strain on an already constrained network.
“Adverse weather conditions are also slowing repairs, particularly underground cable work where waterlogged ground makes excavation unsafe, said Mangena.
He urged customers to reduce electricity consumption, especially during peak periods.
“Customers should avoid using multiple high-energy appliances at the same time and unplug appliances during outages. Once power returns, appliances should be switched on gradually to avoid another network trip.”
Mangena added that teams are working across all eight service centres and apologised for prolonged outages. The utility it is currently dealing with over 2000 open outage calls across its service delivery centers.
He further explained that the persistent threat of theft, vandalism and illegal mining poses a significant risk to its infrastructure, efficiency and financial sustainability.
Illegal mining is a criminal activity conducted in direct contravention of South African law.
It is part of broader organised economic crimes and is often linked to serious offences, including illicit financial flows, extreme violence, human trafficking, gender-based violence and femicide, as well as the smuggling of weapons and explosives.