Load shedding cranked up as snow hits Joburg

July 10, 2023 Siyabonga Mtangana

Bad news for South Africans shivering under one of the most powerful winter frontal systems in years is that higher demand for electricity has meant intensified load shedding.

Eskom said high demand, coupled with a “slight reduction in generation capacity”, has resulted in the need to impose stage-4 load shedding from 1pm. Previously, no power cuts had been expected this week during the daytime.

However, stage-4 cuts will now be implemented until at least 5am on Tuesday.

The worsening power cuts after Johannesburg experienced its heaviest snowfall since at least 2012, with much of the country impacted by the intense cold front. Maximum temperatures in Gauteng were expected to struggle to get into double digits on Monday.