Load shedding causes traffic woes
Motorists fed up with absence of traffic police at intersections during load shedding.
TRAFFIC congestion at busy intersections is just one of the nightmares Zululanders have to endure during load shedding.
Many residents are annoyed over the absence of traffic officials to regulate traffic, especially during peak hours.
The City of uMhlathuze says it has noted the concerns.
‘Obviously when there is load shedding there will be disruptions to traffic flow.
‘During peak hours, we do send officers to assist, but we are limited in terms of how far we can go,’ said uMhlathuze’s Communications Manager, Mdu Ncalane.
‘Once all our traffic lights are solar generated, this problem will be mitigated,’ .
He urged all motorists to be patient with each other and obey all traffic rules, especially the compulsory stops at intersections, to avoid unnecessary accidents.
XtremeMEDix spokesperson Shakthi Girdhari said their ambulance services recently responded to two accidents caused by load shedding, but that there were no serious injuries.
Although Eskom’s power outage crisis seems to have calmed down somewhat, the power utility’s production capacity is still under pressure.
Spokesperson Andrew Etzinger said the recent weather patterns have made an already precarious situation worse.
However, energy expert Chris Yelland was of the opinion that Eskom is solely to blame for the country’s electricity woes.
‘When the weather is hot, they blame the hot weather. When the weather is cold, they blame the cold weather. And when it’s raining, they blame the wet weather.
‘The bottom line is they’re blaming everybody except themselves,’ he said.
With more load shedding on the cards in the near future, the City of uMhlathuze continues to urge consumers to use electricity sparingly.
