Some residents face double whammy of load shedding & water cuts in Gauteng

Gauteng residents have been warned to prepare for a double blow of load shedding and water restrictions in coming days.

Rand Water said supply will be disrupted in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane, for 87 hours over the weekend.

The bulk water supplier said it will be carrying out planned maintenance on one of its pipelines from Friday until Tuesday next week.

At the same time, residents have been warned by Eskom to check their rosters, as stage two load shedding has been extended until Thursday.

The collapse of electricity and water infrastructure is taking a toll on Gauteng residents who could be left high, dry, and powerless.

Eskom said stage 2 load shedding will continue on Thursday, from 4 pm until midnight, following the breakdown of a generation unit at Arnot Power Station and three others at Tutuka. The breakdowns are significantly reducing generation capacity.

The utility’s spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said: “While a generation unit each at Kriel, Majuba and Tutuka power stations are expected to return to service over the next 24 hours, this will still be insufficient to stave off load shedding for Thursday afternoon”.

At the same time, Rand Water’s Eddie Singo said the utility will shut down its systems, in order to carry out maintenance work on key pipelines.

“The pipeline that we are working on is one of those that have been on the ground for about 55 to 60 years, and there was a portion of the pipeline which was weak and prone to fail within the coming few years.”

As residents buckle under the weight of water and power cuts, both Rand Water and Eskom urged residents to use the resources sparingly.

-EWN

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