City Power warns cold weather may affect network

The South African Weather Service forecasted a strong cold front and cut-off low –expected to bring widespread rain, snow, and a significant drop in temperature across South Africa this weekend into Monday. 

In a statement on Saturday, the power entity said the cold temperatures were expected to put pressure on the network through increased electricity demand. It also warned that the weekend chill would affect infrastructure and the mobility of technicians.  

READ: ICYMI: Possible snowfall in Mpumalanga -SAWS

“City Power is taking all precautionary measures, including beefing up resources in our SDCs (Service Delivery Centres), to mitigate against outages that may be triggered by adverse weather. Our teams are on high alert and we will increase resources in high-pressure areas in a bid to minimise the disruption of power supply to our residential customers,” said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena. 

The utility pleaded with residents to use electricity sparingly to minimise pressure on the network.  

“City Power appeals to all residents to also use electricity sparingly to avoid high demand in power supply which could lead to overloading. Customers are encouraged to use other sources to warm their homes and to cook, in order to free up capacity on the grid,” added Mangena.  

Residents are also encouraged to unplug heavy appliances, such as geysers, stoves, and heaters during load shedding at least 15 minutes before power restoration to avoid inrush currents trips.