Mass power outage hits City of uMhlathuze and beyond

A mass power outage hit parts of Richards Bay, as well as eSikhaleni and eNseleni in the early hours of this (Tuesday) morning, lasting for some hours.

The electricity supply interruption was reportedly owing to a fault at Eskom’s Impala substation between Richards Bay and the N2.

It is reported that the issue extended to as far as Hluhluwe, Mtubatuba. Monzi and St Lucia.

The outage began at around 3am, with some areas being restored just before 8am.

Parts of eSikhaleni were still without power by 8.30am. This is together with Mandlazini and Birdswood, where electricity tripped during restoration following the mass outage.

uMhlathuze Municipality reported that Eskom lost power at Impala substation and confirmed that while some areas are back on, the network is not back to full capacity.

“It is estimated that the team will be working most of the day to restore equipment to full capacity. We request that electricity be used sparingly,” said uMhlathuze municipal communications manager Bongani Gina.