City Power urges power saving as cold weather hits Joburg – 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 added pressure on the city’s power network. The utility says it is currently dealing with over 2000 open outage calls across its eight service delivery centers.

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

Small scale farmers in Matatiele in the Eastern Cape are struggling to feed their livestock as the grazing land is covered in snow. Several mountain passes in the province are also closed due to heavy snowfall. Credit: SABC News pic.twitter.com/U00wudoFBS

City Power is urging customers across Johannesburg to reduce electricity consumption as the current cold and wet weather continues to place significant pressure on the electricity network, with thousands of outage calls remaining open across… pic.twitter.com/U6KINnEIvb

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,” says City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

Mangena says where the ground is waterlogged, excavation may be unsafe or impractical, while open trenches can accumulate water and expose electrical infrastructure to further risk.

Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal’s Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) is urging motorists to avoid unnecessary travel today as inclement weather conditions continue across the province. The R617 between Underberg and Kokstad remains closed, with motorists being diverted to the R56.