{"id":869825,"date":"2026-08-12T09:02:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T07:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=869825"},"modified":"2026-08-12T09:02:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T07:02:02","slug":"severe-weather-causes-more-problems-than-expected-in-south-africas-biggest-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/energy\/869825\/severe-weather-causes-more-problems-than-expected-in-south-africas-biggest-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Severe weather causes more problems than expected in South Africa’s biggest city"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

City Power reported over 6,000 power outages in Johannesburg after severe weather conditions had placed pressure on the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of power outages doubled overnight, from 3,000 on Tuesday night to over 6,000 by Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The utility said that adverse weather conditions are delaying its response times, while lower temperatures across the province have also driven up the demand for electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, said that the demand for electricity spiked beyond what the utility had originally expected, which put additional pressure on the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is really putting pressure on our systems, especially in the Hurst Hill area, following the outage that happened at the Delta substation on Monday night. That shot up the numbers, with customers demanding answers,\u201d Mangena said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mangena told ENCA<\/a> that City Power teams had been working throughout the night to restore electricity cuts in the affected areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have all hands on deck, including internal technicians, operators and contractors, so we can be able to respond timeously,\u201d said Mangena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Mangena, City Power\u2019s issues have worsened due to ageing infrastructure, the effects of load-shedding on municipal systems, and contractor delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are still running old infrastructure within the City of Johannesburg, and the recovery of loads is not as fast as it is supposed to be,\u201d said Mangena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is partly due to a lack of investment in improvement and maintenance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem of unpaid contractors has also had a significant impact on City Power\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot respond as fast as we should because of some of those outstanding payments to our contractors,\u201d said Mangena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur material stock reserves are also depleting faster than we can replenish them. We are hoping that by tomorrow, we should be able to move the needle so we can restore power to those affected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mangena also highlighted that the utility was experiencing a delivery crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe teams have held their own since the demand started. We are also putting more teams on the ground, and we\u2019ll concentrate on those areas that have the highest number of outages,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the utility’s problems, Mangena highlighted the impact of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach time you have a stormy season, we have problems. Now we\u2019ve been hit by this big cold snap,\u201d said Mangena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe pressure on the grid is big time. We can\u2019t keep having this on and off all the time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Severe weather warnings for South Africa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

South Africans have been warned that severe winter weather is disrupting major roads across the country starting Tuesday, August 11. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heavy snowfall, rain, icy conditions, and strong winds are making travel dangerous in parts of the Free State, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, and Western Cape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement on Monday, the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) urged motorists to postpone non-essential trips whenever possible. They warned that rapidly changing conditions could lead to temporary road closures, delays, and dangerous driving situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Free State, heavy snowfall is impacting sections of the N1 between Edenburg and Springfontein, although the route remains open. Motorists should expect reduced visibility, limited traction, and icy patches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The R34 between Welkom and Kroonstad is experiencing rainfall and is susceptible to localised flooding during periods of heavy rain. SANRAL indicated that conditions could deteriorate with little warning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snow has also been reported on the N6 between Reddersburg and Smithfield. This road is still open and drivable, but motorists should be cautious of reduced traction and potentially icy sections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SANRAL\u2019s Free State provincial head, Marlize Nel Verwey, said motorists should take the conditions seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSANRAL urges motorists to postpone all non-essential travel as adverse weather conditions continue to affect routes across the Free State,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSnowfall, icy roads and rainfall may result in hazardous driving conditions, road closures and delays.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conditions in the Eastern Cape have been particularly severe, with several mountain passes and key routes closed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City Power reported over 6,000 power outages in Johannesburg after severe weather conditions hit the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":816040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2087434673219657918","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2173798603440539","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18024003683896166","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9874],"tags":[7376,25937],"class_list":["post-869825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-city-power","tag-weather-warning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869825"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":869844,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869825\/revisions\/869844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}