Minister of Electricity attributes power cuts to illegal connections  

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The main reason why load reduction is more prominent in areas around townships and informal settlements is directly attributed to the high number of illegal connections which is putting severe strain on the electricity grid, says Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.

Ramokgopa said these words at the South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) National Investigative Inquiry into the impact of load reduction on human rights.

The inquiry follows growing public concerns and complaints that while South Africa is experiencing a reprieve in load shedding, load reduction is seemingly on the rise which is claimed to disproportionately affect poorer areas.

Ramokgopa said the controversial measure was not targeted at poor people, and that any allegations that racism is linked to load reduction is ludicrous, irrational and has no foundational basis.

While Ramokgopa admitted that load reduction disproportionately affected poor communities, he said that was purely as a result of illegal connections, urbanisation, migration and spatial reconfiguration.

“People move into urban areas to look for opportunities, and some get to relocate to townships and informal settlements where there are shacks which are not connected and they connect themselves illegally.

“And as a result, Eskom and municipalities have not been able to keep up with the demand placed on the distribution infrastructure, resulting in the use of this instrument [load reduction].

“The fact that the highest intensity of load reduction occurs in areas with a demographic profile of predominantly poor people is undeniable.

“But anything that seeks to frame this issue in racial terms is irrational, illogical, and one of the most preposterous conclusions [any] one could arrive at,” Ramokgopa said.

He said he is confident that load reduction will soon be a thing of the past as he intends on expanding the electricity grid. But, it’s going to be an extremely costly exercise.

The inquiry also heard submissions from Joburg’s power entity, City Power. City Power told the commission that amongst the many reasons for the implementation of load reduction in the city, is the rapid increase in population density, which is putting severe strain on the electricity grid.

City Power grid access general manager, Lerato Kgalema said due to the excessive pressure on the power grid, load reduction is essential to avoid a catastrophic, long-term failure.

“Johannesburg’s rapid urbanisation and increased population density have significantly impacted the electrical network often pushing substations on their maximum capacity. In response City Power explored a short-term, medium-term intervention to stabalise supply and prevent the widespread failure and sustain the network’s reliability.

Load reduction serves as a productive measure to mitigate the risk of catastrophic infrastructure failure which could lead to prolonged outages affecting local economies and community livelihoods,” Kgalema said.

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane said while he acknowledges that historically disadvantaged communities were disproportionately affected by load reduction, that was due to spatial apartheid, urban migration and inadequate infrastructure planning, rather than deliberate discrimination.

“But I would beg to differ with the view that says what drives and motivates the need to intervene and protect the transformer, which is overloaded as a result of illegal connections, is the issue of race,” he said.

Testifying at the inquiry, the department of health director-general Sandile Buthelezi revealed that some deaths in health facilities may be linked to load reduction.

He confirmed that these cases have been referred to the health ombudsman for further investigation.

Buthelezi said that while hospitals were equipped with backup generators, they are only able to sustain operations for a limited time during power cuts.

“There is a connection between this issue and the loss of life. According to our reports, some cases have been referred to the ombudsman for a thorough investigation to determine any direct causality,” he said.