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The National Disaster Management Centre together with Eskom has been asking provinces to develop contingency plans for a range of electricity related emergencies ranging from a severe system constraint to a national blackout.

“We have been informed by Eskom that there is a low risk of a national blackout taking place but I believe it would be irresponsible not to plan for all possible contingencies in this regard. The impact of prolonged power shortages, should they occur would be severe, especially amongst vulnerable and poor communities and I believe the province should plan for this,” says Bredell.

The minister says the Western Cape Department of Disaster Management has accordingly been planning for the possibility of severe power shortages, the same way the province plans for other severe incidents like earthquakes, floods and storm surges, as required by law.

“We have been working across the entire province and have a provincial government task team in place working to ensure a state of readiness in the event of a major electricity emergency. We should stress that our planning is done hand in hand with Eskom and we are kept in the loop with all developments in this space.”

Issued by Ministry of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
Western Cape Government