Northern suburbs residents were left frustrated last week after unexpected load shedding literally left them in the dark, but there is hope that your Christmas roast will be cooked on time.
Eskom announced on Friday December 7 that “no load shedding was anticipated” from Friday December 14 to Sunday January 13.
However, before the possible holiday reprieve, the parastatal also said there was a high probability that Stage 2 load shedding would be implemented from Monday December 10 until tomorrow, Thursday December 13.
Goodwood Ratepayers’ Association chairman Faizel Petersen said the power cuts led to traffic congestion, which caused frustration on the roads.
Mr Petersen said residents were confused about whether they would be experiencing Stage 1 or Stage 2 load shedding.
“I’ve therefore shared the schedules on all social media platforms so that residents could prepare themselves for the impact,” he said.
He urged the City to place extra traffic officers at major intersections during power cuts to ease the impact on traffic.
“I would suggest that Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) be added to the controller at certain intersections such as Jakes Gerwel Drive and Voortrekker Road so that it can still operate when the electricity is off,” he said.
An employee at a popular restaurant at N1
City shopping centre, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Northern News last week that load shedding caused havoc with their operation and left patrons frustrated due a delay in food orders.
Eskom has urged South Africans to help by using electricity efficiently and switching off non-essential appliances, lighting and geysers.
● For Eskom customers, load shedding schedules are available onhttp://loadshedding.eskom.co.za or contact the customer contact centre at 0860 037 566.