STORM WEATHER UPDATE: Electricity I 13 May 2026 @ 14:30
Pringle Bay, Betty’s Bay, Rooi-Els (Eskom direct)
Repair work is scheduled to commence tomorrow, 14 May.
Onrus / Vermont – Hawston / Fisherhaven (Eskom direct)
Onrus North, Kingsway, Negester, Bosplasie still off. Structural damage to 11kV line still needs to be repaired. No ETA at this stage.
Hermanus (Municipal direct)
We are waiting for Eskom to provide additional capacity so that we can switch on the areas that are still without electricity.
Customers with solar systems are urged not to charge their batteries from the Municipal grid if the power comes on to assist with the cold startup.
We are however still on limited capacity from Eskom and need to manage the load carefully.
Stanford – Greater Gansbaai (Municipal direct)
The contingency plan was unfortunately unsuccessful and Eskom will have to replace the 66kV breaker.
The initial ETA is mid-morning tomorrow, 14 May.
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STORM WEATHER UPDATE: Electricity I 13 May 2026 @ 09:00
Last night, electricity was restored to some areas in Hermanus, but unfortunately several suburbs and towns in the Overstrand area remain without power this morning due to ongoing network constraints and damage to the electrical infrastructure.
The latest update received from the Eskom Sector Manager at 22:15 confirmed that two 66kV breakers are faulty and need to be replaced. Eskom is currently developing a contingency plan to restore electricity supply to the rest of Hermanus, Stanford and the Greater Gansbaai area.
As part of this process, Eskom engineers are running simulations on the network software to test the feasibility and stability of the proposed plan. These simulations continued overnight, and implementation of the contingency measures is expected to be attempted this morning.
The replacement of the faulty 66kV breakers will take considerably longer, which is why a temporary contingency solution is being pursued in the meantime.
At present, only one transformer is available in Hermanus, and as much load as possible has been restored.
Most areas in Hermanus are back online, except for Voëlklip, Hermanus Heights, Hermanus Golf Club, and large parts of Zwelihle, excluding Marikana, which remain without electricity this morning.
There is also extensive damage to the electrical network in Voëlklip and Zwelihle, and residents in the area should prepare for prolonged outages while repairs are underway.
Stanford and the Greater Gansbaai area also remain without electricity.
There were also reports of cable theft in Gansbaai during the power outage, which will further hinder restoration efforts.
The Municipal Electrical Department is engaging with Eskom regarding the possibility of implementing a temporary rotational load-sharing schedule. This would involve switching certain areas on and off at intervals to allow residents limited access to electricity to recharge essential appliances and devices.
Onrus/Vermont-Hawston/Fisherhaven (Eskom)
The power to Hawston, Vermont, Fisherhaven and Onrus has been restored. Areas like Chanteclaire, Kingsway, Negester, Bosplasie are direct Eskom customers and are fed from the Hermanus Eskom supply line, which is also subject to the problem with the one Transformer at Hermanus Substation.
Pringle Bay, Betty’s Bay, Rooiels (Eskom) are still off due to structural damage to the 11kV supply line that feeds these areas.
The Municipality apologises for the inconvenience and thanks residents for their patience and understanding during this challenging time.
