Joburg power crisis
Joburg power crisis
A Johannesburg power data investigation by Daily Maverick has found a total of 97,715 reported power outages in nine months – with more than 5,126 serious enough to take out entire suburbs at once. People and businesses are truly suffering, as we found in this three-part series – solar is too expensive, and so there is a return to fires, paraffin, gas and diesel. And from July, power costs go up by 12.35%, making the cost of electricity too hard to bear for many.
Powerless in the city — How Johannesburg’s electricity crisis is breaking its people
With almost 100,000 reported outages in nine months, we found tales of generators and grief, diesel or darkness as Joburg residents spoke to us about paying the price of a broken grid. From R40,000 inverters to lighting fires to bathe, Joburgers reveal the extremes they go to amid crumbling municipal infrastructure. These are the testimonies from a city unplugged.
City in the dark — Power cuts choke Joburg’s once-vibrant small businesses
Daily Maverick collected voices from Johannesburg’s hardest-hit communities where chronic power failures aren’t just an inconvenience — they’re an existential threat to businesses, livelihoods, and public safety. In a big city, big numbers tell the story of struggle. But what do almost 100,000 reported power cuts in nine months really feel like? After mapping 5,126 of the most serious multi-day and regular outages, Daily Maverick identified some of the worst-affected areas and went out to collect citizen testimonies of what it means for the lives and businesses of the city’s people. We found that when the lights go out, so does business.
Joburg power crisis — almost 100,000 reported outages in 9 months, 5,126 very serious
Africa’s powerhouse city is going back to the Dark Ages after decades of post-apartheid electrification gains.
"The power outages are very bad, hey, because literally every time it starts raining, or it rains, or it gets a little windy, the lights go. They’re gone for days. It’s not a few hours – it’s four to six days at a time. Food rots and there’s no water to bathe. It’s stressful for everybody."
The chart below shows that from July 2024 to the end of March 2025 there were 97,715 reported outages – the absolute total may be lower because some might be reported more than once. Even half that number would be cripplingly high.
This investigation was produced with the support of the SA | AJP, an initiative of the Henry Nxumalo Foundation funded by the European Union.
These articles does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. Researchers Shahdia Johnson and Zane Carim contributed to these reports.
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