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Why the Wheels of Industry Keep on Turning in Nelson Mandela Bay during loadshedding

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Early in 2019 the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality confirmed that they were ‘sparing’ large industry players from loadshedding – opting to rather meet the demands by Eskom to shed power by extending the number and hours of loadshedding affecting ordinary business and private citizens.

At the time Port Elizabeth and Nelson Mandela Bay residents – during Stage 4 – had up to 13 hours without electricity, compared to just the six hours experienced in some other cities.

Bay residents, who comprise about 40% of all electricity consumers in the metro, continue to shoulder the bulk of the crippling Stage 4 outages over the past week.

The municipality have also made public a decision to stick to Stage 4 loadshedding, despite the demands for Stage 6, with a notice on the municipal web site that reads; “PLEASE NOTE: UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, STAGE 4 LOAD-SHEDDING WILL CONTINUE.”

Some residents remain unaffected by loadshedding – the reasons for which range from proximity to hospitals, essential services, industry or local substations that would not benefit from suddenly increased loads when the electricity is turned on again.

Recently, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber Chamber CEO Nomkhita Mona called on all industry players to use electricity sparingly saying; “Depending on the co-operation and level of participation in this voluntary shedding, this could go a long way towards reducing the devastating effects of stage 6 load-shedding to the economy of the Nelson Mandela Bay region.”

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.