Kwa-Thema – On Monday morning, angry residents from Kwa-Thema blocked roads with burning tyres and rocks during their protest over service delivery.
They were demanding the metro reinstate the 100 free electricity units and for the scrapping of load reductions in the area.
This comes after the metro implemented changes to the electricity tariffs and the supply of Free Basic Electricity (FBE) from 100 kWh to 50 kWh units applicable to customers registered and deemed to be indigents, as of July 1.
One angry resident, Thabang Mofomme said they are tired of the poor services they receive from the metro.
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“Everything is a surprise to us, we are not being consulted with issues that affect us, I was shocked when I went to buy electricity and the voucher didn’t have the free 100 kWh token we normally receive once a month.
“We have elected leaders but no one cared to inform us about the new changes,” he added.
Mofomme added that he is also frustrated by the rolling load reductions implemented in the area.
“We have applications stating the scheduled load-shedding and when we think we have planned our day according to the schedule the metro decides to implement their own load reduction.
“How are we expected to live under such conditions?”
Another resident, Maria Mothwa added that they are going to protest until someone from the metro addresses their issues.
“We are tired of being treated like we don’t matter, we know that our government only listens when residents take their frustrations to the streets,” she explained.
City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the city’s Free Basic Electricity allocation and funding are governed by the Free Basic Electricity National Policy as well as guidelines and grants received from National Treasury.
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“The city is aligning with National Policy on the provision of free basic electricity,” he said.
Dlamini added that load reduction in the area is necessitated by a faulty 25MVA Transformer at Kwa-Thema main substation which resulted in a reduced capacity.
The transformer in question was damaged a year ago and is yet to be fixed. This forced the load from the damaged transformer to be placed on the two operational transformers.
“To mitigate equipment failure risks due to overloading of the remaining transformer, load reduction is implemented.
“Load reduction is only implemented during peak hours (high demand) on a rotational basis of the applicable sections in Kwa-Thema,” said Dlamini.
The procurement process for the appointment of service providers is underway.
He added the load reduction schedule has already been distributed to the respective councillors and community.
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