Eskom has taken the decision to implement Stage 4 load shedding on Tuesday. Photo: Flickr
Eskom has taken the decision to implement Stage 4 load shedding on Tuesday. Photo: Flickr
Johannesburg’s electricity supplier, City Power, made a desperate plea for respite on Monday evening – after they revealed that Eskom’s Stage 4 load shedding is now causing ‘permanent and long-lasting damage’ to the regional grid.
Johannesburg now at ‘breaking point’ with load shedding schedules
According to the firm, some substations are now unable to return to service after the prolonged Stage 4 outages – which have been in force since Friday morning. In turn, the extended power shut-downs are putting a tremendous stain on Jozi’s electricity infrastructure.
City Power detailed the myriad of problems that have been reported in just the last few days. Stressed workers, stolen cables, and an influx of complaints have pushed their services to the brink – and the never-ending bouts of load shedding are wreaking havoc across Johannesburg:
- Almost 5 000 ‘outage calls’ have been made to City Power since the start of the weekend.
- City Power have been forced to pull technicians and operators from leave – with many already fatigued.
- Cables that have been repaired after cable theft are also susceptible to faults during load shedding.
- The wear and tear of Joburg’s aging electricity infrastructure increases every time they’re switched on and off at short intervals.
- Things are getting so bad, locals are being asked to switch-off heavy appliances – like geysers and heaters – during load shedding.
Loadshedding has undesirable effects on the infrastructure which, by its nature was never meant to be switched on and off at short intervals, and comes with it added financial pressures that we did not budget for.
— @CityPowerJhb (@CityPowerJhb) June 27, 2022
City Power bemoans ‘exhausted resources’ following Stage 4 blackouts
In essence, City Power have stated that they are ‘struggling to cope’ with the demanding schedules of load shedding that are being imposed in Johannesburg. With a refusal to comply very rarely an option, the local utility has to play ball – despite the damage that is being done.
- Years and years of failure have led Johannesburg to this point – and sadly, these issues can’t easily be rectified
“Stage 4 is putting too much strain on our resources, with some substations unable to return during restorations, leaving customers without power for a longer period. It comes at the time when City Power was already overstretched by increase in capacity demand due to inclement weather.”
“Load shedding has undesirable effects on the infrastructure which, by its nature was never meant to be switched on and off at short intervals, and comes with it added financial pressures that we did not budget for.”
“Incidents of vandalism and cable theft increase during loadshedding, exarcebating the already dire situation. Just to give you an idea, since Friday until this morning, we had 26 cable theft incidents with one arrest.”
City Power
