With the ominous introduction of stage six loadshedding this week, many Dolphin Coast households have been seriously debilitated, with some in Salt Rock and Sheffield being cut from the power grid for up to nine hours a day.

As widespread blackouts continue to sweep across the country with electricity demand surpassing supply, residents in Sheffield and Salt Rock are demanding answers surrounding the ongoing electricity crisis, over and above the scheduled Eskom power cuts.

Despite KwaDukuza municipality installing a R33 million substation in 2016, residents have been enduring constant electricity cuts that happen at least a few times a week, without warning and generally without an explanation.

According to Ward 22 councillor Privi Makhan, the areas that appear to be most affected are parts of Sheffield and Salt Rock, particularly Hugh Dent, Robbins, Warren and Hewitt roads.

“I have received confirmation from officials in the electrical and engineering department who have advised me that damaged cables in the vicinity of Colwyn and Hewitt are attributing to the delays in switching on the power,” said Makhan.

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However, local resident Gina Thompson who has lived in Ballito since 2004 said the general frustration of residents was swiftly approaching a fever pitch as they have been experiencing regular outages for a number of years.

“In the past five years we have been subjected to consistent and persistent power problems over and above the normal country wide blackouts.

“This week when the rest of the area came back on we continued to experience extensive blackouts.

“Last week parts of Ballito and Salt Rock were without power for more that 24 hours,” said Thompson.

The effect of Eskom’s load shedding is also impacting many small businesses in the region as they try to keep their operations running without electricity.

iLembe Chamber of Commerce CEO Cobus Oelofse told the Courier the unexpected loadshedding has exacerbated an already challenging economic environment for businesses across the iLembe district.

“In Isithebe, the region’s industrial heartland, the unprecedented stage six load shedding has resulted in certain businesses reporting up to 18 hours of lost production time during the busiest period of the year.

“These challenges extend into shift arrangements and employee notifications as well.

“If loadshedding continues at the current levels, it will be a disaster for manufacturers trying to wrap up production before the annual shut-down.

“In addition, the iLembe Chamber has noticed with concern observations by national business representative bodies about the devastating impact of the loadshedding on the country’s economic performance and trading status,” added Oelofse.

During stage six loadshedding, implemented for the first time on Monday, rolling blackouts will occur between two and three times a day.

Eskom returned to stage four late on Monday night and to stage two at 9pm on Tuesday. It is uncertain what the rest of the week will hold.

However the likelihood of loadshedding continuing for the remainder of the week is high.

KwaDukuza Municipality could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press.

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