Rein Snoeck Henkemans
Through the combined actions of the City of Johannesburg, City Power and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), South African consumers are facing a looming, dire cost-of-living crisis.
Just when South Africans thought there was light at the end of the tunnel, City Power has pulled the rug out from under them with the stealthily executed introduction of load reduction otherwise known as load shedding.
Claims that the move was necessary due to increased electricity usage during the winter months seem disingenuous. Temperatures have dropped, people are staying indoors more and they need to keep warm. Consequently, electricity usage is bound to increase.
This begs the question: How is it possible that, despite their many years of combined experience, neither Eskom nor City Power had made any contingency plans to mitigate higher seasonal demand?
