Eskom has resolved to take over the implementation of load shedding in the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) with effect on Tuesday, claiming the municipality has been non-compliant.
The power utility is now in charge of power cuts for customers in all the substations that were previously handed over to the municipality to manage.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Eskom said that the municipality failed to comply by not adhering to the NRS 048-9:2019 code of practice, which requires electricity distributor licence holders to reduce load during a declaration of a system emergency.
“The decision to take over load shedding in Ekurhuleni follows monitoring and analysis conducted by Eskom, which indicate that the CoE is not reducing the load as per NRS 048-9:2019. Eskom has, on numerous occasions, engaged the municipality regarding its failure to load shed its customers.
“Although Eskom notes the CoE’s technical challenges in executing load shedding, it is left with no choice but to implement load shedding for the CoE as the non-compliance puts further strain on the already constrained national grid,” Eskom said.
The power utility said failure to implement power cuts by municipalities affected the integrity and stability of the grid, which may lead to higher stages of load shedding.
In response, metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini acknowledged that they had recently received a letter from Eskom informing them about the takeover.
He said the City will propose to the power utility that it does not shed critical substations.
“We are an economic hub and therefore we are looking forward to positive engagements with the power utility, bearing in mind the valuable contribution of industry to the economy,” said Dlamini.
Cape Times