On Wednesday, 9 July 2025, residents in multiple Soweto communities continued to experience power outages, with some areas entering their third consecutive day without electricity.
Eskom provides latest updates on Soweto power outages on Wednesday, 9 July 2025
Eskom, the national power utility, released several updates confirming continued disruptions and limited restoration progress in affected parts of Gauteng.
According to Eskom’s latest report, customers in Meadowlands Zones 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and Soteba are currently without power.
“We are investigating the cause of the outage affecting customers in Meadowlands Zones 6 to 10 and Soteba. We are unable to provide the estimated time of restoration at this stage,” the utility said.
Eskom has not yet provided an update on the situation in Meadowlands Zones 1 to 5, where power has been out since Monday.
Power has been restored in some parts of Diepkloof and Orlando East. Specifically, electricity is back on in Diepkloof Zones 1, 2, 3, and 5, as well as in Orlando East.
However, Jabulani, Mofolo North (Sgodiphola), and Zondi remain in the dark.
“Technicians are still on-site working on cable repairs and restoring supply… there is still no estimated time of restoration (ETR) at present,” Eskom said.
Pimville is also experiencing an outage. Eskom confirmed that Zones 1, 2, and 3 are affected by a cable fault. No ETR has been provided.
In Dobsonville Extensions 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7, outages were attributed to multiple cable faults. Cable faults occur when electricity-carrying wires—often underground—are damaged.
This can be due to old infrastructure, vandalism, or adverse weather. These faults require manual repairs by jointers, skilled workers who fix the damaged cables to restore electricity.
A major issue also affected the Diepkloof Main substation. Eskom reported that a transformer tripped due to overloading. This happens when too much power is being used simultaneously, typically from high-energy appliances like geysers and heaters.
Eskom has appealed to residents to reduce electricity use during peak hours (17:00 to 22:00) to prevent further overloading.
“Overloaded transformers can cause serious damage or even explosions, putting lives and infrastructure at risk,” the utility warned.
The national grid is currently under pressure. Unplanned breakdowns—when power station components fail without warning—have reached 13 167 megawatts (MW).
This exceeds the 13 000MW warning threshold set in Eskom’s winter forecast. Should breakdowns surpass 15 000MW, Eskom has cautioned that Stage 2 loadshedding could be implemented on as many as 21 days before the end of August.
While Eskom maintains that the grid is stable for now, the reality on the ground is different for many residents.
According to GroundUp, Meadowlands residents took to the streets about a month ago to protest prolonged outages. Demonstrations lasted three days, with burning tyres and rocks used to block roads. Protestors expressed frustration with the lack of communication and recurring blackouts.
“There is no communication. We just find ourselves with no electricity without knowing what the issue is,” resident Tshidiso Makamu told the outlet.
Eskom stated at the time that safety concerns prevented technicians from accessing the area during the protests.
“We urgently appeal to the community to allow our employees safe access to continue their work,” the utility posted on social media.
As of Wednesday, restoration efforts continue in several areas, but delays and uncertainty remain high.
