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DA: Eskom should alert daily
13/01/2008 14:30 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance on Sunday called upon Eskom to do its bit to help South Africa's economy grow by setting up electricity supply forecasts to be broadcast daily on radio and television along with weather forecasts.
"Every time load shedding is done, a part of our economy is effectively shut down and a part of the government's service delivery efforts are paralysed," the Democratic Alliance said.
The public have already had to accept that because of the ANC government's delay of Eskom's R150bn infrastructure expansion programme by five years, load shedding will be part of life in South Africa "for some time to come," the DA added.
However, it said, South Africans did not have to have their patience tested further by an under-capacitated and ill-maintained power that had taken carte blanche to execute the load shedding exercises in the arbitrary fashion that it often did.
"Eskom's existing electricity generation hardware is made up of infrastructure that must be monitored through safety checks and early warning systems just like any other large-scale manufacturer or supplier," the DA said.
"Therefore, it should be fully within its reach to have continuously updated information on the status of the country's electricity supply for up to a week or more in advance."
This would undoubtedly go a long way in assisting businesses and people who are dependent on electricity for their welfare to plan around possible power outages and minimise their possible effects on the economy and the wellbeing of the vulnerable in society, the DA said.
"In this regard, daily electricity supply forecasts broadcasted on television and radio is the way to go, rather than occasional and haphazardly placed load-shedding time tables published in newspapers and on the internet," the DA concluded.
- SAPA
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