Councillors predict city-wide state of disaster if load-shedding not reduced
They beg City Power to engage political leaders and Eskom to strategise and chart a way forward to prevent grid collapse as winter sets in which will only worsen the electricity crisis.
Councillors from wards 86, 88, 98 and 99 beg City Power executives and political heads to engage Eskom to grant a reprieve in load-shedding to avoid disaster for the City of Johannesburg.
The call comes from the continually deteriorating situation at the Roosevelt Park substation off Beyers Naude Drive which consistently trips after power is restored leaving thousands of people, in dozens of suburbs, in the dark for inexcusable lengths of time.
Ward 99 councillor Nicole van Dyk said, “The city is on the verge of disaster and the powers that be need to act and act fast. In Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) where there is a state of disaster in place, there has been some reprieve from load-shedding, so it is possible. Our grids are not coping right across the city, not only here in Region B and City Power (CP) needs to urgently speak to Eskom to look for a solution like that in KZN.”
She said they, and other councillors, are putting pressure daily on CP to create a plan for the coming winter months documented, but nothing is done.
When asked if the entity is taking this situation seriously enough, she said, “It is a very difficult question to answer because they have known about load-shedding for an extremely long time and the city has not taken the opportunity to do upgrades. However, CP is trying desperately hard to keep the power on. We talk to their technicians and do realise how much frustration and stress they are feeling for what is coming, just as residents do, just as we as councillors do, but there seems to be no solution.”
Councillor for Ward 86, Chantelle Fourie-Shawe said, “As soon as we (her suburbs) moved off the Roosevelt Park substation grid due to cable theft two weeks ago our post-load-shedding trips dropped significantly. This demonstrates that the six-decade-old plant is unable to cope with the constant interference in power supply.”
Nicolene Jonker, Ward 88 councillor bemoaned the untenable situation her residents were living in. “Fairland, Northcliff and Berario in particular have gone down almost every single time there is load-shedding due to trips at the substation. It is absolutely terrible. We would like to urgently know what has happened to get us to this point, and what is the way forward as this cannot continue into winter.”
It is believed that some residents who log faults have become so desperate to have their issues resolved, that they have resorted to paying bribes. “I ask residents not to indulge in this behaviour. I know times are hard and life is tough, but we cannot engage in the practice of paying for services that the city should provide,” said Ward 98 councillor Beverly Jacobs.
Van Dyk said one way to try and reduce the risk of a trip following power restoration was for residents to turn off high electricity consumption appliances like UPS systems and geysers. “Wherever possible, please wait a few minutes after load-shedding ends to turn on appliances to allow the grid to stabilise.”
She said there is absolutely no blame to be laid at the feet of residents but ‘doing what we can to prevent an ‘in-rush’ of current to the grid might help’. “It is the small things we can do collectively to try and weather this crisis a bit better.”
Discussing the financial impact on residents and small businesses, Jonker said there was very limited help, but some avenues for assistance are available. “The city has an extended social package programme available if you are in a lower income threshold, or if you are retired for which you can apply. There is also the CP claiming process which is like an insurance claim if you have lost food for example due to a lack of power. I know it is not an answer, but it might help.”
Councillors from Region B met with City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava on February 24, and a further meeting is scheduled for May 25 to discuss ongoing electricity issues.
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