Eskom will interrupt electricity supply to thousands of residents across three Soweto townships tomorrow, 20 May, as the utility rushes to complete critical repairs on its ageing distribution network.
The planned outage will hit customers in Jabavu, Klipspruit Extension 2, and Moroka, with workers switching off power from 9:00 and restoring it only at 18:00, a full nine hours without electricity for affected households and businesses.
“Eskom would like to inform customers in Soweto of an electricity supply interruption due to emergency maintenance to be conducted on the distribution network,” the utility stated.
What the outage means for residents
Engineers will use the window to carry out essential work on distribution power lines, infrastructure that keeps homes and businesses powered across one of South Africa’s most densely populated urban areas. The designation of “emergency maintenance” signals that Eskom identified a fault or risk serious enough to warrant immediate intervention rather than scheduling routine repairs.
Safety remains a top concern for the utility during the shutdown period.
“Customers are advised to treat all electrical appliances as live at all times during the power supply outage,” Eskom warned, urging residents not to assume equipment is safe simply because the grid is down.
How to reach Eskom
The utility acknowledged the disruption the outage will cause. “Eskom would like to thank you for your cooperation and apologises for any inconvenience that this maintenance may cause,” the notice read.
Eskom also cautioned that circumstances beyond its control could force a change of plans, meaning the maintenance may not proceed exactly as communicated.
