Tshwane battles citywide outages triggered by increased electricity demand

The Citizen

7 hours ago

The Tshwane metro has announced that it is currently dealing with widespread power outages across many areas due to electrical circuit overloads.
According to metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo, the overloads are mainly triggered by increased electricity demand during the current cold weather conditions.
Re: Power outages due to electrical circuit overloads pic.twitter.com/7vSGWViEfV
— City of Tshwane (@CityTshwane) June 28, 2025
He stated that the metro is under significant strain as residents rely heavily on heating appliances, which has pushed the system beyond its capacity.
'When too many appliances or devices draw electricity from a single circuit, it can exceed the system's capacity and result in an overload,' said Mashigo.
He said this triggers built-in safety mechanisms like circuit breakers or fuses that automatically cut off power to prevent equipment damage or the risk of fire.
Mashigo assured residents that the city is prioritising serious and critical outages saying, 'We appeal to all residents to assist by using electricity sparingly and responsibly.'
He also addressed concerns about delays in restoring supply, emphasising that they are not caused by the city's recently implemented overtime policy adding, 'The delayed response time to restoring power outages has nothing to do with the recently implemented policy to manage overtime.'
To keep residents informed, Mashigo encouraged them to join their regional or citywide WhatsApp update groups for verified information.
'Together, we can ease the pressure on the grid and help prevent further outages during this challenging cold spell,' added Mashigo.
Some of the affected areas include various parts of Pretoria East that have left residents without power since the morning of July 27.
The outages have been blamed on several issues, such as faulty cables and vandalism.
In Ward 101, Councillor Malcolm De Klerk, speaking to Rekord, said that the Olympus neighbourhood has been without electricity since approximately 18:00 on Friday due to a faulty cable at the Wapadrand substation.
He said that Tshwane metro technicians were dispatched to the scene last night and have been working diligently to restore the power supply.
'The process involves earthworks, testing, and joining cables, which takes about 8 to 12 hours,' said De Klerk, adding that no estimated time for restoration had been confirmed.
'Other areas that were also affected had their power restored late last night. These areas include Mooiplaats, Shere, and Lombardy.'
De Klerk linked the Olympus power outage to ongoing challenges related to infrastructure vandalism at the Koedoeberg substation.
He noted that the substation, which supplies parts of Olympus and Faerie Glen, has had its protection systems damaged, leading to power surges that tripped the transformer at the Wapadrand substation.
'All protection systems need to be replaced to prevent ongoing issues,' he stated.
In an update to residents, De Klerk expressed frustration, noting that little progress has been made at the Wapadrand substation apart from testing the cable to locate the fault.
'At this stage, I'm expecting power to be restored by tomorrow. This is due to the fact that there have been several cable faults prior to this one, and the teams are still addressing those outages,' he added.
De Klerk also confirmed that he would visit the site later this afternoon to assess progress and reminded residents that an area-wide power shutdown for Pretoria East is planned from 09:00 tomorrow.
Ward 91 Councillor Henning Viljoen noted that areas supplied by the Wingate substation, including Wingate Park, Moreleta Park, Elardus Park, Rietvalleirand, Erasmuskloof, the Rietvlei (R118) medium voltage rural line, and Waterkloof Agricultural Holdings, are also currently without electricity.
He said that the cause of this outage is not yet known and that there is no estimated time for restoration available.
'Residents in Mooikloof Ridge, who are supplied by the Mooikloof substation, have been without power since the early hours of Friday morning,' said Viljoen.
He explained that the outage was caused by a faulty medium-voltage cable, which has since been repaired, adding that the final restoration still depends on further work.
'The primary technical team still needs to attend to Panel C23 at the Mooikloof substation before the system operator technical team can energise the repaired cable.'
Ward 44 Councillor Samantha de la Rey said that in her ward, there's a recurring pattern of outages about every two months.
She also expressed concern over the infrastructure at the Koedoeberg substation saying, 'Koedoeberg substation needs urgent attention by the executive of the City. We've raised it before with the mayor. This continued strain may cause the next Wapadrand substation fire,' she warned.
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