ANC55: Nasrec excluded from stage 6 load shedding for entire conference

As the country continues to be subjected to relentless stage 6 load shedding, City Power has confirmed it received a request from SAPS Natjoints to exclude Nasrec, where the African National Congress (ANC) is holding its 55^th national elective conference from the deliberate power cuts.

The power utility said the request by SAPS Natjoints was for the duration of the entire conference from 16 to 20 December 2022.

Nasrec excluded from load shedding

Earlier, energy expert Chris Yelland had asked City Power in a tweet about whether Nasrec was excluded from load shedding.

“Please can City Power Jhb advise whether the ANC Elective Confenence being held at the Nasrec Expo Centre near Soweto, Johannesburg, is being subjected to Stage 6 loadshedding like the rest of South Africa”

“No courtesy of a reply from City Power Jhb but I can confirm: The ANC elective conference at Nasrec is not being load shed. They have asked for and received a full exemption from load shedding from 16 to 20 Dec inclusive (5 Days) while the rest of SA is being load shed at stage 6,” Yelland tweeted.

Security operations

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the exclusion is to assist security operations in the area during the conference.

“It is due to the presence of high security risk persons such as the President of the country, deputy-president, and the government Ministers.“

Mangena said the request coincides with the request from the City of Johannesburg,

“The request, fortunately, came at a time when Eskom granted City Power a retrieval from load shedding, which enables us to, on a daily rotational basis, exempt certain substations from load shedding.”  

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Electricity supply

“Nasrec Precinct is fed from two substations – Crown and Robertsham – and at any given bout of load shedding, one of them is switched off. Robertsham is excluded from load shedding today, which is scheduled from 08h00 – 12h30 and 16h00 to 18h30,” Mangena said.

Mangena added: “City Power has always supported the major events – be it sports, religious, or cultural events – within the City of Johannesburg through our relationship with event organizers.”

Eskom assistance

Earlier this week, Eskom granted City Power some reprieve from load shedding following the devastating and persistent rain that wreaked havoc in Johannesburg.

City of Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse asked the ailing parastatal Eskom to exempt the city from load shedding for three days after a significant loss of electricity.

Phalatse said the request was to allow City Power to “meet the nearing insurmountable challenge of escalating faults and outages,” owed to torrential downpours throughout Gauteng over the past week.

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