News flash
- Severe and persistent weather conditions throughout the festive season have caused widespread damage to Eskom’s electricity networks across South Africa, leading to delays in restoring power to affected areas.
Eskom reported a sharp increase in faults across its supply areas as adverse weather continued on a daily basis. While most major disruptions in the Eastern Cape have now been resolved, significant challenges remain in KwaZulu Natal, Limpopo and the Free State.
In Limpopo, several communities including Tzaneen and Mashashane are still experiencing outages as repair teams work to fix damaged infrastructure. Eskom said its technicians are deployed on the ground in all affected provinces and are working continuously to restore electricity supply.
Restoration efforts have been slowed by difficult conditions in many areas, including flooding, damaged access routes and unsafe terrain. These factors have placed considerable pressure on response times, although Eskom stressed that safety remains a top priority.
Despite the challenges, the utility said its teams are working around the clock to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Eskom also thanked customers for their patience and understanding during the holiday period.
The utility reminded the public to always treat electrical infrastructure as live, even when the power supply appears to be off, to avoid serious injury or loss of life.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
