Community members of Lenyenye, Sasekani, Bridgeway and neighbouring villages took to the streets to express their frustration with Eskom’s ongoing load reduction. They blockaded the R36 road between Bridgeway and Lenyenye entrance with burning tyres, debris, logs and rocks on Monday. The protest continued on Tuesday and by the time of going to print the protest was still ongoing. Tzaneen police spokesperson, Sgt Maurice Nkhwashu said the police were met with stones when they tried to disperse the crowd and clear the road. Limpopo department of transport and community safety advised motorists to use the R71 and R529 roads to and from Tzaneen and The Oaks.
The disgruntled community members said their food goes to waste in their fridges and their electrical appliances get damaged because of the never-ending load reduction. “Small businesses in the area also feel the brunt because of the on and off supply due to the load reduction,” said a small business owner who wished to speak on condition of anonymity. Taxis were also affected by the protest and could not transport people to work on Tuesday morning. Christopher Dinga from the Greater Tzaneen Taxi Association told the Herald that the protest had a huge impact on their business from Monday around 17:00.
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According to Eskom, they resort to load reduction due to overloading of the network which they say can damage electricity infrastructure by causing explosions of transformers and mini-substations. Eskom shared on its social media platforms that overloading also poses danger to people and property in the affected communities. Eskom also said they are currently battling to keep up with the increased equipment failure caused by overloading which is costing millions to repair. Load reduction occurs around 05:00-09:00 and again during peak hours from 17:00 until 21:00.
