Load reduction has a debilitating effect on poor communities and Eskom should not punish everyone because of those who were bypassing their meters or were connected to the grid illegally.
These are some of the views of people who made presentations at the South African Human Rights Commission's (SAHRC) national investigative inquiry into the impact of load reduction on human rights.
The commission said the investigative inquiry comes amid growing concerns, inquiries and complaints from some quarters of society that while South Africa is experiencing a reprieve from load-shedding, load reduction is seemingly on the rise, particularly in poor and historically disadvantaged communities.
Concerns have been raised about the impact of load reduction on human rights more broadly, particularly the right to life, equality and human dignity, and access to basic education and healthcare services, among others.
Kgaugelo Calvin Mogajane, a third-year student at Unisa and a community activist from Mmakau village in North West, told the commission on Monday that load reduction affected him as some of the classes were online.
It is evident Eskom is applying load reduction deliberately because they are trying to push up their sales and profits. They are coming with tricks and tactics to reach their sale goals.
— Kgaugelo Calvin Mogajane, North West community activist
Mogajane said the explanation from Eskom was that it only implemented load reduction as a last resort for the shortest possible time after all other options had been exhausted.
Eskom also explained that load reduction was because of localised networks that were overloaded, with illegal connections and meter bypasses primarily to blame.
“Eskom cries out about meter bypassing, vandalism and theft. I agree that people steal electricity, but the question is what is Eskom is doing to curb the theft of electricity? In some areas, it is a free-for-all where you find the whole community is not buying electricity,” Mogajane said.
He said Eskom's load reduction policy has no transparency. There was a minimum buying threshold of R350 per household and load reduction would be implemented if the area collectively buys less than half of the electricity that month.
“Let us assume Eskom supplies area A with 5,000 households. Eskom has to generate sales of R350 multiplied by 5,000 households and that would be R1.75m per month.”
He said customers with sales of less than 50% will be subjected to load reduction. “How does Eskom calculate that? This means the community must buy for half of the R1.75m. Some of the households can only spend R150 per month.”
In most villages, people collect firewood for cooking and heating and most houses do not have electric geysers. If the community generates less than 50% of the expected sales, it feels the brunt of load reduction, he said.
“It is evident Eskom is applying load reduction deliberately because they are trying to push up their sales and profits. They are coming with tricks and tactics to reach their sale goals.”
Mogajane alleged there was corruption within the ranks of Eskom staff which made it possible for illegal connection to the grid.
“We are sitting with a problem where I have been engaging with Eskom management about this issue and they are not attending to it. I know these are serious allegations. I have engaged Eskom management to deal with their members. There are people in the community ready to submit evidence of wrongdoing by Eskom employees.
“Unfortunately management does not want to entertain the issue of evidence. Last year in January, I placed a call to the Eskom ethics hotline and this has not been attended to.”
Another area of concern was the outsourcing of services to contractors who do substandard work, he said. He cited an area in Mothotlung Ext 2 where 2,068 houses were connected to the grid but they were not buying electricity because their meter boxes were not working. “This matter was reported. It has been going on for eight years. They are not buying electricity but have unlimited access to electricity. When the matter was investigated, it was found it was the contractor’s fault when it electrified the area.”
Mogajane said people affected by load reduction were those living in poor areas where most survived on social grants. “Those who work are all in low-income segments. Also, between 2002 and 2022, electricity went up by 653%. That is way over inflation. Year after year, electricity hikes become a problem. Electricity becomes unaffordable. At the end of the day some people resort to stealing. Eskom has to look at the issue of tariff hikes, They have to look at making electricity affordable.”
People who should be qualifying for free basic electricity do not get it, he said. “Why? It is beyond me. Eskom has to look into that to reduce or stop load reduction.”
Mogajane said he engaged with a police station commander who complained that load reduction undermined crime-fighting efforts. “In a case of hijacking, they have to take the vehicle’s information and upload it on to the SAPS system and circulate it nationwide, so that when the car reaches the border, police will be able to identify it. In the case of load reduction, the system is not working as computers are not working.”
Katlego David Mthombeni, a community leader in Hammanskraal, said Eskom's load reduction infringed on basic human rights. “Our economy is already fragile and the prolonged load reduction exacerbates the situation leading to a further economic downturn and the soaring unemployment rate,” he said.
It was imperative that Eskom explored alternative solutions to address the energy crisis, he said. “Load reduction affects small business. When Eskom implements load reduction, that person must use other means to generate power, in addition to the electricity they have already bought.”
Load reduction increased the risk of accidents, injuries, fatalities and criminal activities, he said. “In Hammanskraal, load reduction is implemented from 5am to 10am and from 5pm to 10pm. When a parent or someone who must go to work wakes up without electricity and must travel home at night when there is no lighting, they are running the risk of being attacked by criminals,” Mthombeni said.
Residents of Hammanskraal want Eskom to conduct an audit of households and deal with those who were connected illegally, he said. “We cannot be punished for someone who is not buying electricity. Eskom must stop with their approach of one size fits all,” Mthombeni said.
Smart technology will prevent theft of electricity as it will alert Eskom if someone is illegally connecting to the grid, Mthombeni added.
The hearings continue on Tuesday.
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