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Stage six and even higher stages are set to be the new norm during the winter months. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng welcomes the newly proposed five-day load-shedding cycle to replace the current 24-hour cycle. This plan was introduced by the DA Mayor Mpho Phalatse in January 2023 after consultation with ward councillors.

Former Mayor Phalatse and former Member of Mayoral Committee (MMC) Michael Sun first announced the plan in January and had this administration not dragged its feet, jobs could have been saved. In addition, residents would have had some reprieve from the impact of load-shedding had this plan been implemented.

This five-day schedule will give residents at least two load-shed free days in a five-day cycle up to stage three. If this can be successfully implemented, the DA will call for the Department of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) to duplicate the plan across the province.

City Power also announced a plan they have been working on since 2022 with former MMC Sun to use smart meters to allow residents access to some electricity during load-shedding. This plan will send a signal to smart meters in an area to reduce the load for a certain period that a house can receive from the grid.

The homeowners will then be responsible for switching off geysers, pumps, ovens and other appliances that use a lot of power while lights, fridges, TV and Wi-Fi can still operate.

For the plan to be successfully implemented, City Power must upgrade an additional 16000 conventional meters urgently.

The DA supports this plan by City Power; however, we are disappointed that Eskom and the ANC-led coalition in Johannesburg have delayed its implementation.

The DA in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) has long since called on COGTA to create a provincial infrastructure masterplan, and we hope that this newly proposed plan can be duplicated across the province to ease the impact of load-shedding going forward.

Issued by Nico de Jager MPL - DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Infrastructure Development