Residents of Germiston have voiced their frustrations about the ongoing load shedding.<\/p>\n
Christina Brandao, from Gerdview, claims that certain areas seem to be affected by load shedding on a daily basis while others seem to never be affected.<\/p>
\u201cWhy is this?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe schedule available on the metro\u2019s website www.ekurhuleni.gov.za is hardly ever adhered to.\u201d<\/p>
Residents in Albemarle have had similar complaints, with many reporting that load shedding can go on for more than three hours at a time, with no explanation from the metro.<\/p>\n
Many have also complained that they are often unable to get through to the call taking centre and, if they do get through, the call is often dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand what is going on with regard to load shedding in Germiston,\u201d said Rodney Hesketh, an Albemarle resident.<\/p>\n
Benaud Barker agreed with Brandao: \u201cCould someone establish from the metro why it is that the same areas are being affected by load shedding on a regular basis and outside of the published (and meaningless) schedule?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis week Hazel Park has twice been down at dinner time.<\/p>\n
\u201cFollowed by a morning bout of load shedding, despite being load shed for three hours the day before.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow come I never see the Vosloorus area without power?<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery night I drive down Webber Road on my way home and every night that area (clearly visible from the top of the hill) is lit up like a Christmas tree.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get the distinct impression that only certain areas are taking the pain for this monumental problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d really like to see the list of which areas have actually been load shed and when.\u201d<\/p>\n
A angry resident of Tedstoneville, who does not wished to be named, also questioned the load shedding schedule being used by the metro.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do we have to put up with load shedding, but Ramaphosa\u2019s street lights are on every day of the week, even during the day; this includes the flood lights being on during the day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere my house is situated I can see everything and I just think it is unfair that we pay so much for electricity, but have to put up with load shedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek Morgan shared his frustrations about the after effects of load shedding.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the past 10 years we have had the problem of a fuse blowing in the sub-station in Turnhout Avenue, in Primrose, between Amsterdam and Van Riebeeck roads whenever the power in the area is cut,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis fuse affects the power supply to about 10 houses in the area, and the problem has just become worse with the ongoing load shedding.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecently we had load shedding from 5pm to 8pm; we had lights for a few minutes and then the fuse blew – the lights were only put back on the next morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy must we wait so long to have the fuse replaced or put back on?\u201d<\/p>\n
The GCN has contacted the metro on several occasions in an attempt to get comment on these ongoing issues.<\/p>\n
After several weeks the metro replied with the following statement from Themba Gabede, spokesman for the metro:<\/p>\n
\u201cLoad shedding is based on when Eskom declares that load shedding is to be implemented,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cExisting schedules on the www.ekurhuleni.gov.za website are the current schedules.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be changes in future to cater for areas which could have been omitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were maintenance issues in Albemarle, such as transformer maintenance, which have caused delays in switching consumers back on.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlbemarle should be back to normal by the end of this week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other issues raised by residents were not commented on.<\/p>\n
Other articles on power outages in the metro:<\/strong><\/p>\n