On Tuesday morning, Eskom confirmed yet another power outage affecting parts of Soweto, the second such incident in the span of a week.
Soweto power outages on Tuesday, 8 July 2025: These areas are affected
This time, customers in Jabulani, Mofolo North (Sgodiphola), and Zondi were left without electricity.
The cause of the latest outage remains under investigation, and Eskom has not yet provided an estimated time for when power will be restored.
Earlier in the day, the power utility reported a separate outage in Emdeni, Naledi, and parts of Zola, due to cable faults. According to Eskom, technicians were dispatched to work on repairs.
“Technicians are on site continuing with cable repairs and restoring supply… Significant progress has been made… we anticipate that all work will be concluded and supply restored at 18:00,” the utility stated.
Service has since been restored in Diepkloof Zones 1 to 5, Mogase View, and Orlando East, areas previously affected by a fault at the Diepkloof Main substation.
That fault resulted in a 16-hour blackout.
The Naledi area also had its power restored following a lengthy delay. Eskom indicated that jointers – specialists who fix underground cables – were deployed and completed the repair work by 23:00.
Eskom apologised to customers for the disruptions and thanked them for their patience.
Eskom struggling to maintain stable power output with rising outages in Gauteng
While no loadshedding is currently underway, Eskom has acknowledged mounting strain on its generation system due to increased electricity usage in the cold winter season.
The utility recently updated its data, confirming that 13 167 megawatts (MW) of electricity supply have been lost to unplanned breakdowns. This is above the 13 000MW threshold Eskom had projected in its winter forecast.
In simple terms, unplanned breakdowns refer to power station equipment failing without warning. This can mean anything from a broken generator to damaged cables or transformers. When these incidents stack up, it reduces the overall electricity available for households and businesses.
If breakdowns climb past 15 000MW, Eskom has indicated that Stage 2 loadshedding may need to be implemented on as many as 21 days between now and the end of August.
Eskom says the national grid is still stable, but it is closely monitoring demand and the status of its power stations.
Customers are advised to reduce usage where possible and to follow Eskom’s official platforms for the latest updates.