Why is my power off?
South Africa has now gone 368 days without national load shedding. So if your power is off right now, it is almost certainly not load shedding. Use this guide to work out which of the five common causes is to blame.
1. Local power outage
An unplanned outage affecting your suburb or a few streets. Often caused by cable theft, transformer faults, vehicle accidents, storm damage, or substation failures.
Signs it's a local outage:
- Your neighbours are also without power.
- It started suddenly, without warning.
- There may have been a loud bang from a transformer, or smoke nearby.
What to do: Check our live power outages map for your metro. Report the outage to your municipality (the more reports they get, the faster they prioritise). Don't go near downed cables.
2. Load reduction
Load reduction is not load shedding. It is a daily morning and evening blackout that municipalities apply to specific high-demand suburbs (mostly in Johannesburg and parts of Gauteng) to protect overloaded substations and transformers.
Signs it's load reduction:
- You live in Soweto, Tembisa, Alexandra, Diepsloot, Tshepisong, Orange Farm, parts of Ekurhuleni or other affected areas.
- Power goes off at roughly the same times every day - typically 05:00-09:00 and/or 17:00-21:00.
- It happens on weekdays especially in winter (May-August).
What to do: Check our load reduction schedule for your area. Load reduction is set by the utility - there is no number to call to "restore" it. It ends when the published window ends.
3. Prepaid / meter issue
If you have a prepaid meter, the most common reason for power being off is that you have run out of units.
Signs it's a prepaid issue:
- Your prepaid meter display reads 0.0 kWh or "OUT".
- Your neighbours still have power.
- Power went off shortly after a previous low-balance warning.
What to do: Buy a token via your bank app, Eskom EasyPay, Pick n Pay/Checkers/Shoprite, or the City Power/CCT/Eskom app. Type the token into your meter. If the meter does not accept tokens, or the display is blank or showing an error, the meter or supply has a problem - log a fault with your utility.
4. Tripped switch (your distribution board)
Your home's distribution board (DB) has a main switch, an earth leakage breaker, and individual circuit breakers. Any of these can trip itself off because of an overload, short circuit, or earth leak. When that happens, only your property loses power - not your neighbours.
Signs it's a tripped switch:
- Only your property is affected. Your neighbours have power.
- The power went off when you switched on a heater, kettle, geyser, oven, or just after plugging in an appliance.
- One of the switches in your DB is in the middle or "off" position.
What to do: Open your DB. Find the switch that is not aligned with the rest. Flip it fully off, then back on. If it stays on, you're done. If it trips again immediately, unplug whatever caused it (most commonly a heater, kettle, geyser element, or a faulty appliance). If it keeps tripping with nothing connected, call a qualified electrician - never bypass a breaker.
5. Municipal fault (between the street and your meter)
A fault on the municipal side - the cable from the street into your meter, the meter itself, or the connection box outside your property.
Signs it's a municipal fault:
- Only your property is affected, but your DB has nothing tripped.
- You hear or see something abnormal at the meter or connection box (burning smell, scorching, exposed wires).
- Recent works (digging, road repairs, fibre installation) near your property.
What to do: Report it to your municipality with your meter number. Do not open or touch the municipal side - municipal workers must do that. If you smell burning or see exposed wiring, call the emergency line immediately.