City Power calls for load reduction as cold weather pressures network – SABC News – Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader.

City Power is urging Johannesburg residents to reduce their electricity consumption as cold and wet weather continues to put pressure on the city’s power network.

The utility says it is currently dealing with more than 2 000 open outage calls across its eight service delivery centres.

This follows a warning from the South African Weather Service of very cold conditions, strong winds and rain in several parts of the country as a significant cold front moves across the country.

The severe weather has also increased electricity demand, prompting City Power to appeal to residents to reduce consumption.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena says, “The wet weather is also affecting some restoration work on the ground. A number of electricity faults, particularly underground cable faults, require technicians to conduct fault finding followed by excavation and trenching to expose the affected cable before repairs can begin. where the ground is waterlogged, excavation may be unsafe or impractical, while open trenches can accumulate water and expose electrical infrastructure to further risk.”