Eskom unable to provide ‘equitable loadshedding’ in KwaDukuza, protests escalate

Eskom is unable to provide ‘equitable loadshedding’ across KwaDukuza, the power utility confirmed in a letter from Eskom’s senior manager of customer services, Gugulethu Dumakude to KwaDukuza mayor Lindile Nhaca last week.

Residents who receive electricity from the same network as the Avon Peaking Power Plant will continue to be exempt from loadshedding, despite the complaints from residents.

Irritation about certain areas being exempt from loadshedding reached boiling point this month with numerous protests across the municipality – some peaceful but others escalating into violence and damage to property.

Nhaca wrote to Eskom last month to report that the municipality was being accused of uneven distribution of rolling blackouts and to make an appeal on behalf of the business community to be exempt from loadshedding.

Eskom said Avon required a constant and uninterrupted water and power supply, and the nature of the electrical network meant that customers fed from the same feeder (Glenhills) such as General Justice Gizenga Mpanza Regional Hospital were exempt while its generator was being fixed.

“The hospital has fixed its generator, and the Glenhills feeder has been placed back onto the loadshedding schedule,” said Dumakude.

She said Eskom was in the process of providing a dedicated separate feeder to the iLembe district municipality water supply, which would ensure uninterrupted supply during loadshedding.

She added that normal discrepancies within a municipal area of supply were the responsibility of the municipality.

“In the case of KwaDukuza municipality, however, the request by the system operator for the Independent Power Producer (IPP) at Avon substation to have an uninterrupted water supply has unfortunate and unavoidable consequences.”

Chairperson of the iLembe Civic Action Movement, Walter Schotter, remained adamant that more could be done to rectify the situation.

“Eskom’s response clearly states that KDM approached them to handle loadshedding, so this is not Eskom’s issue. They merely require a certain amount of power to be removed from the grid by KDM.

“By a rough estimate, less than one third of the area is carrying the complete burden of loadshedding. The other more than two thirds are able to function unhindered while the rest of us experience financial loss, safety risks, and mental burnout,” said Schotter.

“All we ask for is fairness. Loadshedding is a national crisis, which we accept is out of KDM’s hands. However, how it is distributed is most definitely not out of their hands.”

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