Moerane was speaking to a group of Bophelong community members who were protesting at the gates of the ELM head offices in Vanderbijlpark on Monday.

Bophelong community members have spent up to two weeks without electricity, while in other sections the supply goes off for up to six hours on a daily basis.

On Monday, the group once again took it upon themselves to march to the ELM offices and demand to speak with Moerane.

Their march last week, where they were addressed by ELM Infrastructure MEC Bheki Ntsele, was not fruitful. Community members said that they were concerned that the cut-offs were only happening in ‘black areas’

Moerane said that auditors should be allowed in the residential areas to look for illegal electricity users, without any interference from the community.

The ELM recently issued a statement mentioning that due to overloading on the grid, rotational load shedding will be implemented in Bophelong.

Furthermore, it pleaded with residents to use electricity sparingly by switching off non-essential lighting and heating electricity appliances to avoid load-shedding.

Moerane promised that he would also liaise with the office of Municipal Manager (MM), to gain access to the R1 million needed to replace old transformers in the area.

According to a community Spokesperson, Thokoana Mpholo who accompanied the mayor to see how the current transformers work, the new transformer for Bophelong will be operational by Saturday.

The protesters said that if nothing happens by Saturday, they will be returning to the ELM gates to continue their protest