13 Years Without Power: South African Town’s Ongoing Crisis

March 22, 2026 Priya Shah – Business Editor Business

Residents of the modest farming community of Willow Glen, located in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, have endured thirteen years without consistent electricity supply. The prolonged outage, first reported locally in early 2013, has crippled local businesses and severely impacted the quality of life for the approximately 300 households in the area.

The issue stems from a failure of the local electricity distribution network, managed by a regional provider responsible for delivering power directly to households. While the specific cause of the initial failure remains disputed, residents report a cascading series of equipment malfunctions and a lack of sustained investment in infrastructure repairs. Repeated appeals to both the electricity provider and local government officials have yielded limited results, with promises of upgrades consistently unmet.

“We’ve been living like this for over a decade,” said local farmer, Johannes van der Merwe, in a statement to MyBroadband. “Our children can’t study at night, businesses can’t operate efficiently, and food spoils quickly. It’s simply unacceptable.”

The Eastern Cape, like many parts of South Africa, faces ongoing challenges with electricity infrastructure, and supply. According to GeoBlackout, a platform tracking internet and power outages in South Africa, the province frequently experiences localized power cuts. The platform, founded in 2024, relies on user-submitted reports to map outages in real-time, providing a granular view of service interruptions across the country.

The situation in Willow Glen is particularly acute, though, extending far beyond typical load shedding or temporary disruptions. Residents have resorted to alternative energy sources, such as generators and solar power, but these are often expensive and unreliable, particularly for low-income families. The lack of consistent power likewise impacts essential services, including healthcare and education.

Downdetector, a service monitoring service outages based on user reports, does not currently show any widespread reports specifically related to the Eastern Cape’s power grid, but it does indicate a general awareness of service disruptions within South Africa. MyBroadband, a South African tech news and community platform, reported on the Willow Glen situation, but currently shows no user-reported outages as of March 2026.

The South Africa Power Outage Map, which provides a state-by-state overview of electricity outages, currently lists the Eastern Cape as having ongoing issues, but does not provide specific details regarding Willow Glen. Data on the map is updated approximately every hour.

Local authorities have acknowledged the severity of the situation in Willow Glen, but have cited budgetary constraints and logistical challenges as obstacles to a swift resolution. A spokesperson for the local municipality stated that a comprehensive infrastructure upgrade plan is under development, but did not provide a firm timeline for implementation. The plan is reportedly awaiting approval from provincial government officials.