If you’re living in Athlone, Cape Town, you might want to make backup plans for this Wednesday.
The City of Cape Town has announced a 10-hour scheduled power outage to carry out essential electricity infrastructure maintenance in the area.
When and Why the Power Is Going Off
According to the city’s electricity and generation team, the planned outage will happen on Wednesday, 30 July, running from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, provided everything goes according to schedule.
This isn’t just a random switch-off—the work is part of ongoing efforts to maintain and upgrade critical parts of the local power grid, ensuring long-term reliability for residents and businesses.
Only Certain Streets Will Be Affected
Before you panic, know that not all of Athlone will be left in the dark.
The outage is confined to specific areas only, which are clearly marked on the city’s official outage map.
You can view those details here: Outage Map.
Some of the impacted streets this time around include:
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Dove
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Canary
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Starling
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Eagle
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Repulse
If your street isn’t listed, you’re likely in the clear—at least for now.
This Isn’t the First Time
In fact, this is part of a series of maintenance efforts.
Just last week, another batch of streets in Athlone experienced a similar shutdown for scheduled work. Those areas included:
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Forbes
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Covendon
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Blende
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Elwyn
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Saltire
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Unity
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Brand
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Raft
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Krieket
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Parkway
It’s all part of the city’s ongoing strategy to strengthen its power infrastructure and reduce the risk of unexpected outages down the line.
Power Could Return Sooner—So Stay Alert
While the city has given a 10-hour window for the maintenance, they’ve also made it clear that power could be restored at any time during that period.
So even if the electricity goes off early in the morning, it might come back unexpectedly.
That’s why they’re urging residents to treat all electrical outlets and devices as if they are live during the full outage period. Safety first.
What You Should Do to Prepare
The City is asking households to switch off appliances before the outage begins.
This helps avoid the risk of damage from power surges when electricity is restored—something that can easily fry electronics or trip circuit breakers.
And of course, they’ve issued a general apology for the inconvenience, thanking everyone for their cooperation and patience while the work is underway.
