A deal has been struck with Eskom to restrict load shedding to certain times; in return, the City will undertake energy saving campaigns.
With load shedding set to continue for the next seven years, Mogale City is embarking on a major campaign to make the outages more bearable for its residents.
The municipality is implementing a drive to plan load shedding more efficiently, educate residents about saving electricity, and introduce energy saving devices.
Last week it became the first municipality to reach an agreement with Eskom, the national electricity distributor, to restrict load shedding to fixed times. Reached on Friday, 1 February, it was agreed that load shedding in the Mogale City municipal area would only take place on Mondays from 6am to 12pm and on Thursdays from 2pm to 8pm.
Bongani Gaeje, the spokesperson for the mayor, says Mogale City took the initiative to approach Eskom after noting that in the first three to four weeks of load shedding, it was unfairly treated. “We had the most power outages. We had an average of three power cuts a day affecting the entire municipal area. Even Eskom admitted this.”
It was an easy target, he says, because Eskom is directly responsible for the supply of power in the area, “so it’s easy for them to switch off the electricity”.
Bringing certainty
Gaeje explains that the agreement with Eskom will give residents and business a high level of certainty. “Big industry can plan. There is only one evening where residents will not have power. Otherwise people can rest assured that they can cook without any risk of not having electricity.”
Mogale City will now work with Eskom to teach people how to save energy.
The first of these educational workshops was held on Wednesday, 6 February in the council chambers. “We had a session facilitated by the municipality, with Eskom doing a presentation to business and residents on energy efficiency.”
The educational drive is in line with the announcement made on Monday, 4 February by Qedani Mahlangu, the MEC of local government in Gauteng, that all 14 municipalities in the province had committed themselves to the 10 percent of power load shedding that Eskom required, in order to save energy.
They had also agreed to improve communication with residents, businesses and industries on when and how long they would be affected.
“We should also make sure that we assure Gauteng citizens who are currently without electricity that as the government and municipalities, we are committed to the 2012 targets of universal access to electricity as agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development and Millennium Development Goals,” Mahlangu said.
Access to electricity
Gaeje adds that Mogale City is committed to extending access to electricity to all its people. In the immediate term though, the emphasis will be on saving energy. “We will spread awareness on how to use different appliances and have an incentive programme involving Eskom and the regulator.”
By the end of February, the municipality will have developed a comprehensive energy efficiency implementation plan, he says.