Load-shedding: Locals angry about damages
Small business owners are up in arms following the implementation of stage 5 and 6 load-shedding as many say it is impossible to frequently connect and disconnected equipment over weekends in an effort to have it not affected by power surges once electricity is restored.
They are especially concerned about the lifespan of refrigerators given the current load-shedding situation.
Joel Moraba from Ga-Rena Village in Ladanna said many small business owners do not have smartphones or data and are thus literally left in the dark as to the loadshedding schedules.
He said he had already lost appliances, supposedly due to load-shedding.
In a social media post on September 19, Dan Pheme cautioned residents to switch off their electricity appliances as a shack burnt down in Ext. 44 near Westenburg.
The post, translated from Sepedi reads: “Please ensure that you switch ch off your stoves because we often forget et that these cut-offs occur frequently. It is s painful to be at work only for your home to burn down when the electricity returns just ust because you were not careful when switching hing off your appliances.”
Eskom has also warned residents idents to be vigilant with disconnecting appliances when load-shedding is implemented. mented.
In an official statement on September 14 it issued a statement encouraging resident to switch off all nonessential electrical appliances during load-shedding to avoid power surges when the electricity returns.
“Failure to do so may lead to unnecessary trips or damages to office or household appliances when the supply is restored,” the statement reads.