Last year eThekwini municipality received 431 claims for damages to appliances and food loss due to load-shedding and power cuts.
None of the claims were paid.
Municipalities have adopted a stance that no claims relating to load-shedding will be paid unless the municipality is found to be negligent.
eThekwini municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said claims for loss of food and damages to appliances have increased but there is no municipal cover for it.
“There is no budget for these claims. If a claim is accepted, it is settled by the council’s insurance.”
Mayisela said the city expected an increase in the number of claims as higher levels of load-shedding are expected.
The City of Cape Town said loss or damage caused by load-shedding was beyond its control and citizens should liaise with Eskom.
“South Africa has been affected by scheduled load-shedding implemented by Eskom in terms of its nationwide strategy and resultant loss or damage is not within the City of Cape Town’s ambit of control. In this regard the city circulates courtesy proposed load-shedding schedules to enable the public to take precautionary measures.
“If it is discovered that a claim for damages is directly linked and attributed to load-shedding the claimant is advised to refer their claim to Eskom and to liaise with Eskom’s representatives,” the city said.
City Power does not cover load-shedding related claims but Johannesburg outages are covered.
“Load-shedding related claims are not covered by our public liability policy. Outages are covered where it is proven, based on facts, that City Power was negligent,” spokesperson Isaac Mangena said.
Load-shedding related claims had increased.
“We recorded between 12 and 13 claims per month from July 1 to September 30. We recorded between 16 and 24 claims from October 1 to December 31, with the highest ever, 24, in November.”
The claims were from customers who experienced power surges which damaged their appliances when power was restored after load-shedding or food spoiled after prolonged outages.
“The average value of claims is R13,522.26 for the year to date. A total of R30,321.11 was paid for ‘load-shedding’ related claims for the past financial year. Please note customers may claim load-shedding when submitting a claim but the cause is found to be something else on investigation,” said Mangena.
“The insurance department does not budget for these claims as there is insurance cover in place centralised at the City of Johannesburg.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.