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The Executive of the City of Johannesburg calls on the residents to heed the calls to change their attitude towards the usage of electricity and reduce consumption to ensure we keep the lights on. The government of local unity led by the Executive Mayor Cllr Kabelo Kwamanda supports the precautionary measures taken by City Power to protect the local grid from a total collapse - an eventuality which would have catastrophic consequences to the residents of the City of Johannesburg. 

In response to the ongoing energy demand challenges and to ensure the stability of the power system, City Power has announced a series of load reduction measures.

“City Power is committed to providing reliable and sustainable electricity to all its customers. We understand the inconvenience caused by these measures but our systems have reached critical levels due to high electricity demand coupled with rampant illegal connections that further strain the electricity grid”, says Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Environment Infrastructure and Services in Joburg, Councillor Jack Sekwaila.

MMC Sekwaila explained the measures implemented as;

Load reduction is a measure taken to avoid overloading the power system during peak hours. This is done by temporarily reducing the supply of electricity in identified areas with high levels of energy consumption. These measures include switching off supply for two hours during peak periods, between 4:00 - 10:00 in the morning and 16:00 - 22:00 in the evening.

City Power also remotely switches off geysers using ripple receivers in areas where the demand for electricity increases and appeals to customers to voluntarily reduce electricity consumption. To further assist customers in saving energy without being completely switched off, City Power will from July implement load limiting through smart meters. The entity has also embarked on a project of increasing the installation of solar geysers in low-income households across the city, removing another bulk of weight from the grid. 

City Power is furthermore continuing with signing load curtailment agreements with large power users and bigger businesses to allow us to request them to reduce production during certain periods to assist in alleviating the pressure on the grid.

While these measures and others such as and cut offs of illegal connections are currently underway to relieve the burden on the electricity network due to the increase in energy demand, City Power has to implement load reduction to prevent the system overload. 

This measure is necessary to protect the integrity of the infrastructure and to prevent prolonged power outages caused by system overloads.

City Power has recorded an enormous increase in the average evening peak load in some areas, which went up by 65%, from 25MW during the summer months to 33MW between April and May 2024. 

In some instances, the load reaches 42MW, constituting a 110% increase in consumption levels in comparison with the warmer season. During January and March this year, the average off-peak consumption at some substations has been sitting at 20MW. Between April and May, consumption went up by 50%, increasing the off-peak load to 30MW. 

“In the past few weeks City Power has issued warning to residents of the City of Johannesburg to use electricity sparingly to avoid the network from overloading. We would like to reiterate that call. If residents of city can partner with us by reducing their electricity usage, we can bring load reduction to an end”, added Councillor Sekwaila.

*Energy Saving Tips*

• Switch off appliances when not in use,
• Use energy-efficient appliances, 
• Reducing the use of air conditioning and heaters,
• Switch off pool pumps and geysers when high power warning alerts are issued,
• Do not repeatedly boil water rather make us of a flask,
• Do not use the oven as a heater and 
• Where possible prepare meals outside of peak times.

“City Power has been communicating the load reduction schedules to the affected since 10 June 2024 on all its official channels. I must also stress the importance of allowing our technicians to do their job safely without the threat of violence and theft of equipment. We will not respond to calls in areas where this happens to safeguard our technicians”, says MMC Sekwaila.

Issued by City of Joburg