Emergency plan for a total Eskom blackout launched
2 July 2015
Solidarity, in conjunction with KragDag, over the weekend launched an emergency plan aimed at the event of a total Eskom blackout. The plan offers practical tips on how households can prepare for the possibility of being without Eskom electricity for up to two weeks.
Although chances for a collapse of the national grid are slim, Solidarity believes members of the public should consider being prepared for it to some degree. Cabinet, the Cape Metropolitan Council and several other provincial and metropolitan authorities have reportedly started to make such preparations. Moreover, independent energy experts have also referred to the possibility of protracted power outages.
“Should an Eskom grid collapse occur the public will, to a large extent, have to rely on themselves and should thus be prepared for it. Even if it doesn’t happen – as it will not in all likelihood – it is still in the public’s interest to be proactive. With this emergency plan we want to help our members and the general public to be prepared too so there would be no reason to panic should Eskom not be able to supply electricity for a week or two,” Piet le Roux, Head of Solidarity’s Research Institute said.
Le Roux says that rolling blackouts, also known as load shedding, is Eskom’s way of manually maintaining network stability and it is precisely what prevents a complete network failure. “However, rolling blackouts are Eskom’s last resort and for it to work a kind of constant vigilance is required, an attribute Eskom has generally not been known for in recent years, given its maintenance backlogs and delays in its new build programme,” Le Roux added.