Eskom on Wednesday said it would carefully consider all the negative consequences as well as residents’ legal and constitutional rights before implementing rotational blackouts in densely populated townships where illegal connections were rife.
On Tuesday, the power utility announced its unprecedented move to cut-off power to selected areas for a few hours during peak consumption for as long as illegal connections in those neighbourhoods continued to damage its infrastructure with substations exploding.
Illegal connections have been a major problem for Eskom for years and the utility was now trying to put its foot down, with this unprecedented move.
However, Eskom could not specify the exact townships that it was referring to, only that they were in Gauteng. Eskom said the decision to implement rolling blackouts in these communities was not part of load shedding.
Eskom’s spokesperson Sikonathi Manthantsha said this way, residents would only be off the grid for a few hours during peak times, instead of sitting in the dark for days while the repairs at damaged substations was carried out.
“This is a better cry for everyone affected to rather go without electricity for three to four hours a day, rather than sit for hours with electricity because the infrastructure has been broken,” he said.
Eskom could, however, not give an indication of how long these power cuts would be carried out.
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