Kibler Park residents protest against City Power’s load reduction

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Disgruntled residents of Kibler Park, south of Johannesburg have embarked on a protest for prolonged power outages after City Power implemented load reduction to protect electricity infrastructure from overloading.

The residents barricaded roads with rocks along the R80 causing traffic disruptions.

Ward Councillor Matsobane Sekhu says residents are buying electricity that they never get to use fully, yet the service remains problematic.

“Every time you have to switch on and off the appliances you know, some of them are working as you can see we have some people here, they are working from home so they can’t continue with their daily duties. So it’s a basic need that everybody needs. We need that public participation to make people understand why are you embarking on this kind of measure.”

City Power says a large portion of the community in Kibler Park in Johannesburg does not pay for its electricity. Power utility spokesperson Isaac Mangena says the utility has observed a concerning rise in electricity consumption, especially during peak hours.

“So what we would normally do is to switch this ones on for four hours and then after four hours switch the other that can basically be able to share electricity equitably.  So this one, we are clearly implementing it as a last resort. Like I say we have been talking to the community leaders, to customers informing them about the pressures we find ourselves in as City Power so that they can assist us to keep the lights on. So, it’s not throughout the day, it’s certain time periods, the peak periods of morning and evening.”

Other areas affected by load reduction: 

#CityPowerUpdates #LoadReduction

Monday, 24 June Load Reduction Schedule:

1. Morning
– Block 1 will be affected by load reduction from 04:00 until 06:30
– Block 3 will be affected by load reduction from 06:00 until 08:30
– Block 4 will be affected by load reduction from… pic.twitter.com/eRqMZQgljz

— @CityPowerJhb (@CityPowerJhb) June 23, 2024