NC towns face longer power cuts

NORTHERN Cape residents who are already reeling under electricity cuts due to non-payment to Eskom, face longer hours without electricity, with Kai Garib Municipality in the ZF Mgcawu District now facing 15 hours of power cuts a day.

Eskom spokesperson, Stefanie Jansen van Rensburg, said yesterday that electricity to the Kai Garib Municipality, which includes the town of Kenhardt, would be cut from 6am until 8pm from February 22, and continue indefinitely, unless a suitable payment agreement is made with the power utility.

The municipality owes Eskom R124.8 million.

“For the first week (from February 15) the contemplated interruption of electricity will be from 6am until 9am and from 5pm until 8.30pm on weekdays, and from 8.30am until midday and again from 3pm until 6.30pm on weekends.

“For week two (from February 22), the interruption will be from 6am until 8pm, both on weekdays and over weekends.”

In Barkly West and Warrenton, which fall under the Dikgatlong and Magareng municipalities respectively, residents face an additional two hours of electricity cuts a day from February 12.

Currently the electricity in both Warrenton and Barkly West is cut from 6am until 9am and again from 5pm until 7.30pm during the week. Over the weekend, power is cut from 8.30am until 11am and then again from 3pm until 5.30pm.

According to the residents in these two towns, they had received notices that this would be extended by an additional hour in the morning and again in the evening unless payments were made.

Jansen van Rensburg said yesterday that a 6am to 8pm interruption was not on the table for Dikgatlong and Magareng, at this time.

Extension

“On January 30, we gave the two municipalities 14 days notice regarding the extension of their interruption times by two hours per day should they not make acceptable payments or reach suitable payment agreements.

“It is, however, lawfully within Eskom’s right to extend the interruptions even more, should the municipalities not make payments towards their overdue debt. In this case we will give them and the public sufficient notice,” said Jansen van Rensburg.”

A concerned community group in Dikgatlong said yesterday that a petition would be handed over to the municipality on Thursday regarding what they called “disgusting service delivery”.

The group’s spokesperson, Kalie de Bruyn, said that they were calling for the municipality to be placed under administration.

“The electricity cuts have infuriated many people. All businesses and community members are affected and if the shutdown is extended, the entire town will come to a standstill. No offices, whether they are private or government institutions, will be able to operate under these conditions. This will also affect water levels as the water pumps need electricity to work.

“This service delivery from the municipality is unacceptable. We will forward a petition to a member of Parliament from Cope on Tuesday (today), who will take the matter to Parliament. We will also hand over a petition to the municipality highlighting not only the water and electricity crisis, but also maladministration at the municipality,” said De Bruyn.

Debt owed to Eskom in the Northern Cape has ballooned to R13 billion and is continuing to rise, with the Magareng Municipality owing R37 million and Dikgatlong owing R54 million.

According to Eskom’s Khulu Phasiwe, the total debt owed to Eskom is around R13 billion.