The City of Johannesburg has requested that Eskom grant the City a three-day exemption from rolling blackouts. This is due to the impact of devastating floods and thunderstorms, resulting in prolonged power outages in several parts of the City.
Eskom is currently implementing Stage 5 power cuts due to a breakdown in generating units. Gauteng is expected to face more heavy rain and flooding over the coming days.
⚠️Possibility of severe thunderstorms today
Just 15 cm of water is enough to make you lose control of your car, 30cm of water is enough to float most cars & 60cm of rushing water can carry away cars, and SUVs. Never drive or walk through flooded #JoburgRoadSafety #Jhbtraffic^NS pic.twitter.com/ZzK4yTIpDN
— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) December 12, 2022
Johannesburg’s Environment and Infrastructure MMC Michael Sun says, ”Our Executive Mayor Dr Mpho Phalaste, has requested on behalf of City Power for a three-day exemption from load shedding. The reason for the request is we are looking at the rains and floods and we need a day or two to ensure that we stabilise the situation.”
He adds, ”But three days will be sufficient for us to get all the outstanding faults resolved. So, the exemption is what we requested from Eskom yesterday. We have received interim feedback but it is not yet confirmed. We are still working with Eskom to ensure that they agree to our request as it really is an emergency.”
