Large power outage in Cape Town 28 September 2026

Power cuts were reported across Cape Town's northern and western suburbs on Monday evening, from Table View and Big Bay to Goodwood and Kraaifontein. A notice attributed to the City said a transformer had tripped and that further trips were interrupting efforts to restore supply.

Restoration: the material reviewed for this report gives no time for full restoration. Some residents reported electricity returning, but those accounts do not establish whether supply is stable across an entire suburb.

Where the cuts were reported

The reports cover two broad parts of the city: the West Coast suburbs around Table View and Blouberg, and the northern suburbs extending inland towards Durbanville and Kraaifontein. The map locates places mentioned in the available accounts. It does not show electricity circuits, the location of the fault or which homes currently have power.

Named in the reproduced notice: Big Bay, Plattekloof, Goodwood, Elsies River, Tiervlei and Kraaifontein. The notice also refers to the N1.

Additional community reports: Table View, Parklands, Sandown, Blouberg, Sunningdale, Edgemead, Burgundy Estate, Durbanville, Parow South, Vredekloof, De Tijger, Bellville and Buh-Rein Estate.

These are reports of interruptions within an area, not evidence that every property there lost supply. A nearby street having power does not settle the status of your own connection.

What the notice says about the fault

The notice reproduced in the community discussion says the City and Eskom were investigating trips in northern and western areas. It identifies a transformer trip and says the network was tripping again during restoration because of instability.

That account leaves several questions open. It does not identify the transformer, explain what triggered the first trip, give a customer count or set a restoration deadline. Claims about a particular substation or transmission line would go beyond the information available.

Was this load shedding?

The OurPower schedule for Cape Town, checked on 28 September, showed no load shedding for the day. The reported transformer trip points instead to an unplanned fault. A normal load-shedding timetable therefore offers no return time for this interruption.

There is also a difference between a schedule and a fault list. OurPower's separate municipal outage tracker listed 34 active faults across 29 suburbs when checked. Those entries include local incidents and must not be treated as a count of faults caused by this event, or as its complete geographical extent. An area missing from that list is not necessarily back on supply.

How to report an outage

Use the channels for the supplier on your electricity account. Have your address, contact number and account or meter number ready, and keep the fault reference so you can follow up.

City of Cape Town customers: Call 0860 103 089, SMS your fault to 31220, email power@capetown.gov.za or use the City's service request portal. Standard SMS charges apply.

Eskom customers: Report or track a fault through Eskom's Alfred chatbot, or call 08600 37566. Alfred also uses that number on WhatsApp.

The City advises residents to use one reporting channel for a fault, rather than submit the same request repeatedly. If you have already logged it, use the reference number when asking for progress.

While supply is being restored

Switch off high-consumption appliances and leave a light on to indicate when electricity returns. Treat electrical installations as live throughout the interruption. Keep clear of damaged cables and equipment, and report hazards to your supplier. Electricity can return while repair work is still under way.

Sources and reporting notes

This article records reports from 28 September 2026. It is not a live outage feed. The original City notice and a utility restoration bulletin were not independently retrieved; the transformer account is attributed to the reproduced notice on that basis.

1. Cape Town community discussion, 28 September 2026. Resident accounts and a repost of the notice attributed to the City. Community locations are unverified.
2. OurPower: Cape Town load-shedding schedule and electricity fault tracker. Both are third-party services and change over time.
3. City of Cape Town: official fault-reporting contacts and guidance on switching off appliances and avoiding duplicate reports.
4. Eskom: Alfred reporting channels and safety guidance for interruptions.