Stage 6 load shedding: AfriForum and public take aim at Eskom woes

11 December 2019

The civil rights organisation AfriForum has given the public a direct means by which to voice their displeasure with Eskom’s state of affairs and the unprecedented implementation of stage 6 load shedding.

Written tongue in cheek, AfriForum’s petition letter solicits the public’s support and lists various demands which Pravin Gordhan and Gwede Mantashe – respectively Ministers of State-owned Enterprises and Mineral and Energy resources – as well as acting Eskom group CEO Jabu Mabuza are reasonably able to comply with.

These demands include the following:

To expedite the unbundling of Eskom into three separate entities, with a specific focus on the merit-based appointment of senior management and the rooting out of corruption;

To expedite the signing of contracts with truly independent power producers (IPPs) so that capable, knowledgeable and willing private energy producers can add power to a failing, state-controlled energy grid;

To compel Eskom to improve its communication with the South African public, as 20 to 30 minutes warning before the implementation of stages 2, 4 or even 6 load shedding is unreasonable and unacceptable; and

To force Eskom to share with the public the live status of all of its power generation units, so that the South African public can come to its own conclusions regarding the likelihood of load shedding. At this stage unplanned outages below 10 000 MW are kept below the radar, although they still represent an enormous problem. The loss of only two to three generation units (which is more common than it should be) easily leads to the implementation of stage 2 load shedding. Rather than starting to warn the public of a constrained network at around 10 000 MW unplanned outages, Eskom should be compelled to constantly keep the public informed about the exact status of its power network.

The letter also requests that the three above-mentioned officeholders answer the following questions:

Did you, in any way, shape or form, anticipate the situation whereby Eskom was forced to implement stage 6 load shedding on Monday 9 December 2019? If not, why not?

What can South Africans realistically expect in terms of the power system for the remainder of 2019 and the year 2020?

AfriForum believes that, with the festive season rapidly approaching, members of the public are entitled to a steady supply of power, as well as answers from those who have failed to provide it.

To sign the letter, please visit the following website: https://www.afriforum.co.za/en/stage-6-load-shedding-afriforum-and-public-take-aim-at-eskom-woes/

Issued Hesti Steenkamp, Media Relations Officer, AfriForum, 11 December 2019