Cold front strains electricity supply in Joburg
Johannesburg is facing severe electricity outages as a cold front puts immense pressure on the city's aging power infrastructure. City Power reports a massive backlog of faults, exacerbated by inclement weather and systemic issues like illegal connections and lack of maintenance.
Why it matters
The crisis highlights the vulnerability of urban infrastructure in developing nations to climate-related stress and long-term underinvestment.
As the cold and wet conditions make landfall across Johannesburg, the metro’s ailing electricity network is buckling under “significant pressure” from increased demand, GroundUp reports .
According to statements by City Power, as of Tuesday morning on 11 August, there were almost 3 700 power outage calls across eight service delivery centres and over 2 400 calls on Monday alone. The most calls came from Hursthill, Reuven and Lenasia.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said technical teams were working around the clock but “overall backlog remains exceptionally high as new faults continue to be reported”.
Inclement weather has delayed restoration efforts, including the excavation of underground cables, causing increased demand on the network, said Mangena.
He said City Power “will not compromise the safety of employees, contractors or the public” to speed up repairs in dangerous conditions.
Residents have been urged to reduce electricity consumption, particularly during peak hours.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in