Now that the country has formed a united front to amicably resolve load shedding, it is important that the people responsible for this mess are punished accordingly.
Households and firms are expected to save at least 10percent of their normal electricity consumption, but I think some communities must be excluded.
Over Easter I visited my village and while watching the 7pm news, a national electricity warning appeared on the screen. I looked around the house for appliances that consume too much energy to switch them off. Apart from the television and a few energy light bulbs, there was nothing.
In villages and townships, stoves, fridges, irons and kettles are the only appliances consuming power. Most people iron at weekends.
My mother prefers boiling water using fire wood and she cooks simple meals that cook quickly. Now compare this to households in the suburbs that use motors for swimming pools and electric gates, host luxury dinners and have geysers and air conditioners.
It is very unfair to include villagers and township residents, especially in informal settlements, in power cuts because their electricity consumption is low.
Phillimon Mnisi, Johannesburg
Punish power users justly
Now that the country has formed a united front to amicably resolve load shedding, it is important that the people responsible for this mess are punished accordingly.
Households and firms are expected to save at least 10percent of their normal electricity consumption, but I think some communities must be excluded.
Over Easter I visited my village and while watching the 7pm news, a national electricity warning appeared on the screen. I looked around the house for appliances that consume too much energy to switch them off. Apart from the television and a few energy light bulbs, there was nothing.
In villages and townships, stoves, fridges, irons and kettles are the only appliances consuming power. Most people iron at weekends.
My mother prefers boiling water using fire wood and she cooks simple meals that cook quickly. Now compare this to households in the suburbs that use motors for swimming pools and electric gates, host luxury dinners and have geysers and air conditioners.
It is very unfair to include villagers and township residents, especially in informal settlements, in power cuts because their electricity consumption is low.
Phillimon Mnisi, Johannesburg