Parts of Gauteng to face 9-hour power cuts for Eskom maintenance

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Eskom has announced a planned electricity outage in Meadowlands, Soweto, to conduct critical maintenance on its distribution network. The power supply will be interrupted on Monday, 24 February, from 9:00 to 18:00, affecting residents in Meadowlands Zones 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

The utility said the scheduled work is necessary to ensure the reliability of the power supply in the area. “We understand the inconvenience this may cause, but this maintenance is essential to improve network performance and prevent unexpected failures,” Eskom stated.

Residents are urged to treat all electrical appliances as live during the outage. Eskom thanked customers for their patience and assured them that teams would work efficiently to restore power as soon as possible.

Stage 6 Load Shedding Hits Amid Unit Failures

Eskom implemented Stage 6 load shedding at 1:30 in a separate development due to multiple unit failures at its power stations. The crisis follows a series of breakdowns, including unit trips at Camden and Majuba Power Stations and an additional failure at Medupi, leading to a loss of 3864 MW in generation capacity.

“This measure followed the implementation of Stage 3, necessitated by multiple unit trips at Majuba Power Station and a unit trip at Medupi that resulted in a loss of 3 864 MW in generation capacity, while planned maintenance accounted for 7 506 MW,” Eskom explained.

The utility said Stage 6 would remain in effect until further notice as it works to stabilise the power system.

Eskom’s Struggles Raise Concerns

With the combination of maintenance-related outages and intensified load shedding, Gauteng residents are growing increasingly frustrated with the ongoing electricity crisis.