South Africa: Power outages to persist through July 2021

Event

South Africa's state power utility company, Eskom, announced on Thursday, January 30, that it will no longer delay planned maintenance to the country's power infrastructure. Power cuts and rolling blackouts are expected to impact the country over the near term; the company hopes to finish repairs by July 2021 (approximately 18 months). 

Associated transportation and business disruptions are expected to accompany any power outages. Demonstrations are also possible if power disruptions persist over the near term.   

Advice

Individuals in South Africa are advised to monitor the situation, keep batter-operated devices fully charged whenever possible, be cautious when driving or crossing streets if traffic signals are not functioning, and adhere to all instructions issued by the local authorities.