Load reduction looms for residents of Mohlakeng
'The current electricity supply is not enough to service the entire Mohlakeng area at once' – municipality.
*Article updated
Mohlakeng residents are urged to use electricity sparingly to avoid yet another round of load reduction.
This comes after Eskom announced that it would be implementing a load-reduction programme across various municipalities in the country.
According to Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) spokesperson Phillip Monsthiwa, the current electricity supply is not enough to service the entire Mohlakeng area at once.
The RWCLM is appealing to all residents in the city to reduce their electricity consumption as much as possible. The municipal infrastructure such as medium-voltage switchgear, transformers, cables and circuit breakers are taking a beating every time there is load-shedding; more especially when the electricity supply is restored by Eskom after load-shedding.
“The municipal-owned infrastructure is not designed for the heavy current that is put through them when a few thousand geysers, stoves and heaters all need to be energised at once,” said Montshiwa, who added that the real issue is that if the municipality infrastructure fails, the damage will be to such an extent that it will take days if not weeks to repair and restore the electricity supply.
Eskom has put it on record that electricity supply at selected substations will be set at a maximum of 50% of the current notified demand. Should this limit be exceeded, the utility will disconnect supply to the whole area.
The RWCLM will then need to apply to the power utility to reconnect the supply, which can only be considered the next day.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time load reduction looms for residents of Mohlakeng. Just last month, residents took to the streets to protest against being plunged into darkness more often than stipulated by Eskom in its load-shedding schedule.
*In a previous version of this article the Herald wrote, ‘There seems to be no end in sight for electricity supply problems in Mohlakeng, as residents might be plunged into darkness once again. This is due to the West Rand District Municipality’s low payment rate on its Eskom account, which might lead to the power utility reducing its electricity supply to the area’. This is indeed incorrect. Load reduction programmes are initialised by Eskom as a result of a local municipality’s low payment rate on Eskom accounts — Ed.
