Eskom Withdraws Durban’s Load-Shedding Exemption After Flood Repairs

eThekwini Municipality has announced the end of Durban’s exemption from load-shedding from 25 May 2023, signalling an end to the relief offered after the catastrophic floods of April 2022. According to East Coast Radio, Eskom withdrew the relief after discussing the matter with the municipality.

Durban residents were relieved from load-shedding to facilitate the repair of critical electricity and water infrastructure after the deadly floods. Later, the city was put on a schedule where rotational power cuts were only effective from stage 4 or higher.

Since some areas in the city are still grappling with flood damage, eThekwini Municipality has maintained that they normally can’t afford to completely switch off specific substations.

The finalised revised schedule will be shared with the public once it is ready, and eThekwini Municipality is urging customers to check their suburbs against their new block numbers once the schedule goes live. Furthermore, some suburban block allocations have been amended, but some blocks will only experience load-shedding from stage 7 onwards. These blocks include areas with a “large industrial component,” which have been allocated to Blocks 17 to 20 and are expected to experience a shutdown of four hours at a time from stage 7 onwards.

The revised load-shedding schedule comes as eThekwini Municipality continues efforts to repair critical infrastructure damaged by the floods. However, it is also acknowledged that the country must reduce the load to protect the national grid. Therefore, the municipality admits that some areas must be exempted from switching off as they pose a significant risk to residents and infrastructure.

Bulletin:

DURBAN’S LOAD-SHEDDING SCHEDULE IS BEING REVISED: Eskom and eThekwini Municipality have revised Durban’s load-shedding schedule and a new schedule will be effective from 25 May 2023. The revised load-shedding schedule comes as eThekwini Municipality continues its efforts to repair critical infrastructure damaged by the floods.

Also Read:   Eskom Exemption Update: Controversial Decision Withdrawn Temporarily

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