Darkness Descends: Cape Town Braces for 10-Hour Blackout Across Dozens of Areas
The City of Cape Town has announced a ten-hour planned power outage for essential electricity infrastructure maintenance and upgrades. Scheduled for either September 19-20 or September 26-27, the interruption will affect numerous southern peninsula areas as part of ongoing efforts to improve network reliability. Residents are advised to take precautions, including switching off appliances, and treat all electrical installations as live.
The City of Cape Town has announced a significant ten-hour planned power outage, essential for conducting crucial maintenance and upgrades to its vital electricity infrastructure. This scheduled interruption is set to occur from 22:00 on Saturday, 19 September, until 08:00 on Sunday, 20 September. Should circumstances necessitate a postponement, the work will be carried out on an alternative date, specifically from 22:00 on Saturday, 26 September, until 08:00 on Sunday, 27 September. This proactive measure is an integral part of the City’s ongoing infrastructure maintenance programme, which is strategically designed to enhance the overall reliability and resilience of the electricity network, ensuring a more stable power supply for its residents.
A wide range of areas across Cape Town's southern peninsula will experience this temporary electricity interruption due to the critical upgrades. The affected suburbs and localities include Muizenberg, Clovelly, Sun Valley, Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek, Glencairn, Glen Marine, Glencairn Heights, Glen Ridge, Welcome Glen, Woodlands, Da Gama Park, Dido Valley, Bay View Village, Bayview Heights, Simon’s Town, Simon’s Kloof, Seaforth, Red Hill, Boulders, Middle Beach, Bellvue, Winford, Murdock Valley, Smitswinkel Bay, Cape Point, Noordhoek, Long beach, Ocean View, Soetwater, and Kommetjie. Residents in these areas should prepare for the extended period without power.
The City of Cape Town has issued important advisories concerning the planned maintenance. While the outage is scheduled for ten hours, electricity supply could potentially be restored at any time before the stated end. Therefore, customers are strongly urged to treat all electrical installations as live for the entire duration of the planned work to ensure personal safety. Furthermore, residents are advised to switch off all sensitive appliances as a precautionary measure before the power goes out. This will help prevent any potential damage that could arise from power surges when the electricity supply is eventually restored. The metropolitan municipality has extended its apologies for any inconvenience that this essential maintenance work may cause and has expressed gratitude to residents for their understanding and cooperation during this period.