Electricity outages in KZN and Eastern Cape as winter weather bites

Eskom's technical teams are battling weather-related outages in several regions in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

Damaging gale force winds, rain and snow overnight has interrupted electricity supply to about 300,000 customers in areas in the Eastern Cape, the utility said.

Affected areas include Mthatha, Qumbu, Tsolo, Elliotdale, Matatiele, Mount Frere, Bizana, Mount Ayliff, Elliot, Komani, Dutywa, Butterworth and Cofimvaba.

“Eskom teams are preparing to make the areas safe and start restoring electricity supply. We appeal to customers for patience during this strenuous period.”

This comes after the SA Weather Service issued an orange level 9 warning for disruptive rain in the Eastern Cape. Residents were advised to “expect flooding, road closures, and difficult travel conditions. Stay indoors if possible and follow official alerts”.

In KwaZulu-Natal there are power outages after severe weather, including heavy rainfall, strong winds and snowfall.

The areas affected by outages include Empangeni, Melmoth, Mtubatuba, Ulundi, Hluhluwe, Jozini, Nongoma, Eshowe, Bergville, Ladysmith, Ingagane, Paulpietersburg, Ixopo, Kokstad, Cedarville, Franklin, Umzimkhulu, Bulwer, Lamington, Harding, Ingeli, Paddock, Edendale and Riverdale.

Eskom said it has deployed technical teams to attend to faults in accessible areas.

“However, many roads remain closed due to flooding and snow, making access to some affected zones impossible at this time.

“Technicians remain on standby and will attend to the areas as soon as they become reachable.”

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