Home Another Eskom unit trips, as 14-hour power cuts set for some regions

Another Eskom unit trips, as 14-hour power cuts set for some regions

Following the breakdown of two generational units on Tuesday, Eskom made it a hat-trick on Wednesday when the Kendal unit tripped. It’s the third power station to experience this maintenance issue in the past 24 hours, and the power giants have warned South Africans to use electricity sparingly for the rest of the day.

Eskom to cut the power in these municipalities

Eskom are playing tough this week. After issuing final warnings to several defaulting municipalities, the energy firm put their foot down firmly on districts in both the Northern Cape and Free State. A total of six local regions in two municipal areas are now set to lose their electricity supply:

Magareng, Northern Cape

Magareng could have been joined by a few more municipalities in the Northern Cape, but Postmasburg, Port Nolloth and Tsantsabane have all squared their debts with Eskom in the past few days. The utility will be removing the power between 6:00 – 22:00 each day – starting on Wednesday 8 July – until the defaulting region agrees to a payment plan:

“Ultimately, the responsibility for municipal non-payments rests with elected officials. The municipality will have to endure daily power restrictions until the payment breach has bee rectified by those in charge.”

Eskom statement

The following districts will be hit by the blackouts:

  • Warrenton
  • Warrenvale

Masilonyana, Free State

After being served notice on an eye-watering R74 million electricity bill at the end of last month, this municipality in the centre of Free State has failed to comply with warnings from Eskom. With their energy fees still unpaid, the utility has confirmed that they will switch the power off for 14 hours a day, from 15 July onwards:

“This situation shall persist until the municipality has rectified this breach. Residents are encouraged to contact local officials to learn more about the debt repayment. In order to minimise hardships for our consumers, Eskom will restrict energy supply in a regulated pattern, rather than an outright disconnection.”

“This breach of a payment obligation undermines Eskom and jeopardises our ability to supply electricity on a financially substantial basis. We are entitled to withhold electricity to any municipality due to non-payment.”

Eskom statement

The following districts will be hit by the blackouts:

  • Theunissen
  • Brandfort
  • Winberg
  • Verkeerdevlei


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