By Mapaballo Borotho
- Joburgers have been urged to reduce their electricity consumption as the cold and wet weather places significant strain on the city’s electricity network.
- City Power says at least 2,450 open outage calls were lodged on Monday as demand increased amid the sharp drop in temperatures.
- The utility has warned that high demand, illegal connections and wet weather conditions are affecting the electricity network and restoration efforts.
Joburgers have been urged to reduce their electricity consumption as the cold and wet weather conditions continue to place the electricity network in the metro under significant strain.
Temperatures dropped to 3 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, 11 August 2026, in Johannesburg and, as expected, residents will be using heating devices to keep their households warm.
City Power has urged residents to use electricity carefully during this time, following at least 2,450 open outage calls that were lodged with the utility on Monday.
“Technical teams worked throughout the day to restore supply and close outstanding calls, the overall backlog remains exceptionally high as new faults continue to be reported,” said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.
Mangena says the pressure is expected to persist as Johannesburg experiences a sharp drop in temperatures, with cold and wet conditions expected to continue into the week.
“During periods of intense cold, thousands of customers can increase their electricity consumption at roughly the same time, particularly during the morning and evening peak periods,” he added.
He says the increase in demand places considerable strain on the distribution network and can result in overloaded transformers, mini-substations, cables and other electricity infrastructure.
The situation is more severe in areas where electricity infrastructure is already operating close to or beyond its designed capacity because of illegal connections.
Mangena says the wet weather is also affecting some restoration work on the ground and, in such instances, teams may have to wait for conditions to improve or take additional safety measures before excavation.
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