By Mapaballo Borotho
- Eskom has announced a planned nine-hour power outage in Braamfischer, Soweto, on Thursday, 29 October 2026.
- Electricity supply is expected to be interrupted from 09:00 to 18:00 while crews carry out maintenance.
- Residents have been urged to prepare for the shutdown and treat electrical appliances as live throughout the outage.
Some residents in Gauteng are set to experience a nine-hour power outage this week, with Eskom confirming that customers in Braamfischer, Soweto, will be affected on Thursday, 29 October 2026.
The power utility confirmed the interruption in its Gauteng Cluster Connect bulletin for October 2026. Eskom says crews need to switch off the electricity supply to carry out essential maintenance on its distribution power lines.
Residents in the affected area have been urged to prepare ahead of the planned shutdown.
When will the power outage take place?
Eskom will interrupt electricity supply in Braamfischer at 09:00 on Thursday, 29 October. The utility expects power to be restored by 18:00 on the same day.
As the outage will cover most of the day, residents are encouraged to charge their cellphones, laptops and backup batteries the night before.
Households should also plan meals and make arrangements for refrigerated food during the interruption.
The utility has warned that the planned maintenance may not proceed as communicated if circumstances beyond its control arise.
Residents are encouraged to monitor Eskom’s official communication channels for any last-minute changes.
Safety precautions during the outage
The power utility has advised customers to treat all electrical appliances as live at all times during the outage.
Electricity could be restored without warning, and residents should not attempt repairs or tamper with electrical wiring while the supply is interrupted.
Switching off appliances and unplugging sensitive electronics can also help protect them from potential power surges when electricity returns.
Eskom reports more than 525 days without load shedding
Meanwhile, South Africa has surpassed 525 consecutive days without load shedding, with Eskom reporting improved generation performance.
According to the power utility, improvements in power station reliability, fewer unplanned outages and reduced diesel expenditure have contributed to the sustained period without load shedding.
“These improvements, driven by the Generation Recovery Plan, have contributed to South Africa recording 525 consecutive days without loadshedding since 16 May 2025.
Eskom currently has 4 961MW of available generation capacity above current demand requirements, providing additional capacity to support electricity demand and economic activity,” the utility said in a statement.
Eskom says its Generation Recovery Plan continues to deliver results, with its financial year-to-date Energy Availability Factor (EAF) reaching 68.1%, compared with 62.48% during the same period last year.
The utility says this is its strongest financial year-to-date EAF performance in six years, reflecting improvements in the availability of its generation fleet.
“Progress towards eradicating load reduction by March 2027 also continues, with approximately 1.5 million previously affected customers restored to normal electricity supply.
The number of customers affected by load reduction has declined from approximately 1.69 million to 193 556, an 88.6% reduction.
Seven provinces have been free from load reduction, with the remaining impact confined to selected areas in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal”.
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