City Power implements power cuts in Joburg

Despite 75 days of suspended load shedding by Eskom, Johannesburg residents will, from Monday, have to contend with load reduction by City Power.

The regional power utility said its systems have come under severe strain over the past few days and, therefore, has to implement load reduction.

The load reduction is set to run during peak times, starting at 6am until 10am and then from 4pm until 10pm, in what City Power called “high-density” areas in Johannesburg.

Load reduction

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said electricity consumption in the City of Johannesburg has reached critical levels, forcing it to embark on stringent measures to protect the grid from total collapse.

Mangena said hot water geysers are among the biggest electricity guzzlers, accounting for up to 50% of monthly household energy costs.

“These measures include intensifying the implementation of ripple relay systems to cut electricity to geysers in homes where the systems are under threat, reducing load at substations with higher consumption and those under threat, and intensifying cut-off operations against illegal connections.

“Load reduction will be implemented during peak times from 6 to 10 am and 4 to 10 pm in high-density areas and suburbs with concerning usage levels that threaten to overload the electricity equipment. Load Limiting, through smart meters, will also be implemented in July to further assist customers in saving energy without switching them off completely,” Mangena said.

ALSO READ: City Power warns of prolonged power outages due to high demand

Warnings

Mangena added the decision to initiate load reduction follows extensive efforts to encourage customers to use electricity wisely and efficiently in recent weeks.

“Despite warnings about the constrained electricity network in the city, residents have not reduced their electricity consumption, and energy demand has continued to rise.”

City Power said it is implementing load reduction as the last resort, an urgent and unavoidable necessity to protect the electricity infrastructure from overloading which can lead to the equipment exploding, catching fire, and resulting in prolonged widespread outages. Delays will incur in repairing the damages and replacing the equipment.

City Power said it has also intensified the removal of illegal connections and revenue collection operations across the City of Johannesburg during the winter season. This seeks not only to alleviate pressure on the system but also to recover the billions owed to it by defaulting customers.

The list of areas to be affected by the load reduction is available on City Power’s website.

ALSO READ: No load shedding, but City Power warns load reduction could hit these areas to ‘protect from total collapse’