AFTER receiving numerous complaints from residents of Glenashley and La Lucia who fall within block three of the latest loadshedding schedule, ward councillors, Shaun Ryley (Ward 36) and Heinz de Boer (Ward 35) have asked officials from eThekwini Electricity to address the adversely-affected residents in a public meeting.
Since the latest schedule came into effect in April earlier this year, residents in blocks one to eight have had a difficult time without power in the evenings. Residents have been angered by the fact that some areas (block three) experience load shedding on a continual basis at peak times, and others (block 18) were hardly ever affected, only in stages three and four.
Shaun Ryley said that all complaints that had been received were forwarded to the relevant channels and that, as councillors, himself and De Boer have asked the department to monitor the frequency of shedding in this block and look at a possible solution.
“While the municipality is responsible for determining the specific schedule to be applied, it is at the mercy of Eskom itself when it comes to the particular stage that is implemented. While there may be logical reasoning behind the structuring, the lack of communication and publicising of information around this has led to the exacerbation of the public’s frustrations,” he said.
The meeting, which will be open to the public, is to be held at Victory Christian Academy, 34 Ronan Road, La Lucia on Wednesday, 17 June at 6pm. Officials from the electricity department will present to the public on why the schedule has been structured in the way that it has and will answer questions and address the concerns of those affected.
