Winter demand and grid strain put spotlight on home electrical safety
· Citizen
South Africans are being urged to check their home electrical protection as winter weather and rising heating demand place pressure on household installations, even as Eskom reported a stable national grid.
Surges pose hidden risk when power returns
According to Andrew Dickson, engineering executive at CBi-electric: low voltage, winter was the hardest season on home electrical systems.
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“Winter is the toughest season for any home electrical installation,” he said. “Higher heating loads, severe weather and a less stable grid all stack up at once.”
The SA Weather Service’s seasonal forecast for June to October 2026 pointed to above-normal rainfall along the eastern coast, while cold interior temperatures were expected to push up use of geysers, panel heaters and underfloor heating.
Storms, lightning and cable theft were also flagged as regular causes of outages during the season, and Dickson noted that when power returned after an outage, surging current could damage sensitive equipment.
He recommended a surge protection device fitted at the distribution board as the first line of defence, since it intercepted spikes before they reached household circuits.
“Protection installed at the DB board provides a co-ordinated protection plan and intercepts a surge at the entry point before it can propagate,” he said.
Testing safety devices and managing load
Dickson also urged households to regularly test earth-leakage protection units, warning that these devices could be affected by the same electrical faults they were meant to guard against.
“The test is straightforward: press the button, confirm the circuit trips, reset,” he said, adding that any unit failing to trip should be treated as faulty and replaced immediately.
On circuit overloading, Dickson said extension cords made it easy for homeowners to underestimate cumulative electrical draw.
“Homeowners often don’t think about the total load; they think appliance by appliance,” he said, noting that most plug circuits were rated to 16 amps.
He advised using dedicated circuits for high-draw appliances and pairing this with smart energy tools such as timer-controlled geysers to ease strain. “A bit of attention now saves you the emergency call-out later,” he said.
Eskom reports continued stability and reduced outages
Eskom said its Generation Recovery Plan continued delivering results, with its Energy Availability Factor reaching 64.29% year-to-date as at 2 July 2026, up from 58.54% over the same period last year, an improvement the utility described as a 5.75% year-on-year gain.
Average unplanned outages fell to 9 850MW between 26 June and 2 July 2026, down from 14 981MW during the same week last year, a reduction Eskom said exceeded the generating capacity of Kusile power station.
The utility reported 413 consecutive days without loadshedding since 16 May 2025, and said no diesel was used for generation during the reporting week, contributing to an 84.65% year-on-year cut in diesel expenditure for the financial year-to-date.
Eskom also reported progress on its Load Reduction Eradication Programme, with about 1 099 430 customers, or 65% of the 1.69 million targeted, removed from load reduction schedules, and load reduction fully eliminated in five provinces.
The utility said 1 861 180 smart meters had been installed nationally as part of efforts to stabilise local networks, though it noted that resistance in some communities, including intimidation and work stoppages, had delayed more than 122 000 planned installations.
Eskom said it remained on track to end load reduction in seven provinces by October 2026 and nationally by 2027, and encouraged residents to report illegal connections via its dedicated Crime Line on 0800 112 722.