Unequal loadshedding out of our control, says KwaDukuza municipality

With many parts of the North Coast experiencing 10-hour blackouts a day during stage six loadshedding, residents have accused the municipality of unfair implementation.

Local councillors and the Courier have been inundated with phone calls, with residents complaining that some areas in KwaDukuza were never switched off, while the continued exemption of power cuts in eThekwini was also questioned.

In response, KwaDukuza municipality (KDM) clarified how loadshedding was being distributed.

The main factor determining which areas are never affected is the Avon Peaking Power Plant inland of Shakaskraal, which is used to supply 670MW of power to the national grid in times of peak demand.

The plant needs to stay connected, even when not actively producing power, should the need for power generation abound.

It needs water pumps for cooling purposes when generating electricity too, and areas on the same grid as the plant’s infrastructure have to be kept online.

This includes parts of Chaka’s Rock, Imbonini, Umhlali, Salt Rock, Shakaskraal, Sheffield and Nkobongo.

https://www.citizen.co.za/north-coast-courier/202602/loadshedding-continues-on-stages-4-and-5/

Elsewhere, parts of Ntshawini, Mayville, Thembeni and Charlottedale also escape blackouts because they share the grid with the Stanger Point of Supply power line which is used for switching purposes.

Everywhere else in KwaDukuza experiences the same outages, which mirror most of the country, except in eThekwini which remains free from loadshedding until stage four.

This exemption has remained in place since the KwaZulu-Natal floods last year, during which eThekwini was said to be the worst hit in terms of infrastructure damage.

Compounding the issue in KwaDukuza, as in many parts of South Africa, is that the electrical infrastructure is not designed to handle the interruptions that loadshedding brings.

This means faults often occur when the power is switched on or off, aside from the problems of illegal connections and cable theft which persist.

In response to the issue, KDM said they have employed five more supervisors and electricians to speed up response times when faults occur.

Areas in KwaDukuza that are not exempt will continue to experience loadshedding as Eskom demands, the implementation of which KDM said was out of their control.

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