After numerous complaints and questions by residents about their electricity usage remaining the same despite power cuts occurring for several hours a day, Paarl Post enquired after this with the Drakenstein Municipality.
According to Marius Wüst, Executive Director of Engineering Services at the municipality, because residents are without electricity during load shedding this does not mean their electricity usage will automatically be lower.
“Not necessarily, as consumers tend to use more or less the same amount of electricity, albeit more concentrated and in a shorter space of time,” he explained. “Consumers may have their lights on for shorter periods, but lights use very little electricity, so it does not result in large savings.”
He explained another important fact was that appliances such as geysers and fridges operated on thermostats, which used a lot of electricity to reach the desired temperatures.
“During Eskom load shedding these appliances reach near zero temperatures and need to significantly heated up or cooled down (depending on the appliance) when the power goes on, causing them to draw more electricity than during times of no load shedding.
“The result is consumers’ electricity usage stays more or less the same during Eskom load shedding as when uninterrupted power is enjoyed.
“This is not only the case in Drakenstein but across South Africa.”
Some residents are also unhappy over the fact that they pay the full amount for the availability fee, even though they do not have access to electricity for many hours during a month.
“The answer is simple,” Wüst concluded.
“An availability fee is charged because Eskom, via municipalities or directly, is still making electricity available, although not 24/7. Availability fees also form part of the electricity tariff, and are used to maintain electricity infrastructure and networks.
Furthermore, municipalities across South Africa (of which Drakenstein Municipality is one) are still obliged to pay an availability fee to Eskom every month, whether load shedding is implemented or not.
