City Power identifies Joburg hot spots for 'load rotation'

The power utility said it was facing capacity constraints in most areas especially where illegal connections were on the rise.

JOHANNESBURG - City Power on Wednesday said that it had identified various hotspots across Johannesburg where “load rotation” would be implemented in order to save its infrastructure.

The power utility said that it was facing capacity constraints in most areas, especially where illegal connections were on the rise.

City Power's Isaac Mangena said that there had been an increase in the number of unplanned outages caused by the high demand for electricity and the damage to its infrastructure had also exacerbated the network's capability.

Mangena urged resident to use electricity sparingly to reduce the risk of power cuts as the winter season approached.

"Some of the hotspots where we have seen an increase in illegal connections including at Region A, in Rabie Ridge, Region E, which includes Alexandra and informal settlements within the City of Johannesburg and Lenasia. We are going to intensify to deal with some of the illegal connections through some of the operations that we hold."