Total blackout ‘a real danger’

COLD COMFORT: Mthatha residents like Gcobisa Tshefu should rather use gas heaters to warm themselves and homes to prevent a looming power blackout in Mthatha and surrounds. Picture: LULAMILE FENI

LARGE parts of the former Transkei, including Mthatha, are on the brink of a total power blackout if residents don’t drastically cut their electricity consumption. Eskom warned this week that many areas in Transkei were experiencing power supply challenges due to severe weather conditions that hit most of the country this week.

The conditions have reportedly resulted in the overloading of Eskom’s system in KwaZulu-Natal and some parts of the Eastern Cape that are feeding electricity to several towns in the former Transkei region
This follows heavy snowfalls and rains which fell in some parts of the Eastern Cape which affected the regional electricity infrastructure network.
Between 40 000 and 50 000 customers, mainly in the former Transkei, have reportedly been left without power in their homes since Wednesday.
Eskom’s communications and stakeholder manager in the Eastern Cape, Ntombekhaya Mafumbatha said the most affected towns included Mthatha, Ngqeleni, Tsolo, Matatiele, Mount Frere, Port St Johns, Libode, Willowvale, Qumbu, Flagstaff, Lusikisiki and Cofimvaba .

“Eskom technicians are working hard to restore the power supply in some of the areas that have been affected,” she said.
“The major challenge though is that we have areas that are not accessible due to the bad weather. They [areas] are now beginning to overload due to high usage of electricity by consumers.”
Mafumbatha urged stakeholders in affected areas to minimise power usage. “When there is overloading, some areas are switched off and we don’t want a situation where people have no electricity,” she added.
Eskom has helicopters on standby that will take off to assist with electricity restoration as soon as the weather clears.
The parastatal had also sent out a stern warning to consumers to treat electricity appliances as “live” as there was a possibility that power could come back without warning.

The situation is so bad that Eskom has warned authorities in King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) Municipality about the possibility of a sudden blackout in Mthatha.
KSD spokesman Sonwabo Mampoza confirmed the warning. “The municipality has received a critical call from Eskom informing us of the serious state of the power,” he said.
“The chances of Mthatha having a sudden blackout are very high and the consumers are urged to reduce the load by switching off all unnecessary appliances .”
The spokesman said that while KSD could not stress the seriousness of the situation enough, it would be in the best interest of all electricity users to co-operate and reduce demand on the supply network.
Ratepayers Association of Mthatha chairman Graeme Alexander called on municipal authorities to start focusing on promoting the use of alternative renewable energy sources.

“People have heaters going day and night because of the cold but I believe that maybe the time has come to look at alternative energy sources. In the meantime, people could also be encouraged to use gas as well,” said Alexander.

- Daily Dispatch