Dennilton residents call for an end to load reduction

MOUTSE – Dennilton residents are outraged over the ongoing Eskom’s load reduction adversely affecting communities in the area of Moutse.

On Monday, the angry community members converged at the Ndlovu Amphitheatre for a meeting about their predicament.

They decided to close down Eskom’s offices in Elandsdoorn until the power utility came down to address their grievances.

Seun Mogotji, Bolsheviks Party of South Africa (BPSA) leader, said they were told that load reduction is due to illegal electricity connections and theft in the area, which he thwarted.

Mogotji expressed, “The people of Dennilton buy electricity and Eskom is well aware of which households have by-passed their connections and which ones are not buying authentic electricity units.

“If needs be, they must go house-to-house to check who are the culprits and disconnect their power supply instead of punishing the whole community for the sins of a few rogue elements,” expressed Mogotji.

The residents threatened to completely shut down Dennilton on Friday if Eskom does not attend to the problem before then.

EFF Sekhukhune district’s Ali Maloba cited that the situation forces school children to wake up at about 03:00, trying to prepare themselves before load reduction is implemented between 05:00 and 07:00 and again, they cannot study properly at night as power goes out from 19:00 to 21:00.

Maloba added that mourning families have to bury semi-decomposed bodies because of the implementation load reduction.

He indicated that emerging local businesses are not spared the wrath of the load reduction’s negative impact.

To add to the residents’ predicament, the Moutse area experienced a power outage on Wednesday morning from about 02:00, which community members viewed as an attempt to sabotage their efforts to find an amicable solution to the power crisis in the area.

Mogotji said if the experienced power outage is indeed a move to sabotage the residents’ mission to have their problems solved, the community would be even angrier. “God knows what their reaction to this latest development will be. We are hoping for a positive solution,” indicated Mogotji on Wednesday morning.

Lawrence Ditlopo, Eskom’s Limlanga provincial communications officer, confirmed that the residents closed down the office in Elandsdoorn on Monday.

Ditlopo indicated that there has not been an invitation to Eskom about a meeting with residents regarding the matter.

“The implementation of load reduction in the area was well communicated. It was initially implemented in 2021, lifted during the heightened load shedding stages and then re-implemented last year,” explained Ditlopo.