Contingency measures in place for load shedding

In response to the announcement of the introduction of Stage 6 load shedding by Eskom, instruction has been issued to the management of the Municipality to prepare contingency plans to ensure that special attention is given in order to provide for the minimum disruption to services like water provision, sewerage, law enforcement as well as fuel security for the Municipality. 

The Communications Department was also requested to prepare a communication plan should the situation at Eskom deteriorate further and the IT Department in terms of ensuring that our IT Systems will continue operating as it is the backbone of the Municipality’s communication and accounting services.

I am confident that the Municipality, like in the past when Stage 8 load shedding was imposed, is well prepared to mitigate any service delivery disruptions that might occur as a result of power losses. 

I am further heartened by Minister Bredell’s statement that the possibility of a complete system failure which could lead to a national blackout situation is extremely low; but we need to be aware and prepared that Eskom system operators might have to introduce even further measures to prevent a blackout.

Although not all pumpstations currently have standby generators, we will make use of mobile generators as well as additional honeysuckers to keep sewer pumpstations from overflowing. Sewer pumpstations have also been prioritised to ensure that we keep close watch on those that might cause environmental damage should they overflow and attend to them first. 

In terms of water provision, I was informed that sufficient capacity exists to ensure continued provision. However, a drop in water pressure may be experienced in some areas. 

Fuel security is an issue outside of the control of the Municipality, but there have been communications with the fuel providers in all towns within the municipal area. They expect no shortages in the short term and our operational teams do have a plan in place to keep vehicles providing essentials services at maximum fuel levels.

It is important that the public should remain calm and not do panick-buying or stocking up of fuel. I also wish to request your assistance to lower the consumption of water during these Stage 6 - 8 loadshedding periods to minimise the pressure on both our water and sewerage systems. 

Finally, I would like to thank the public for their support and perseverance during these trying times.