Eskom signs agreement with IEC to limit load shedding impact during May polls
Eskom said it is working around the clock to avoid disruptions at thousands of polling stations when the country votes on 29 May.
FILE: Eskom's Megawatt Park in Johannesburg. Picture: Eyewitness News.
JOHANNESBURG - Eskom said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in a bid to limit the impact of load shedding during the May national elections.
While there has been no load shedding for more than 30 consecutive days now, there is no guarantee that the lights will stay on when the country goes to the all-important 29 May polls.
But Eskom said it is working around the clock to avoid disruptions at thousands of polling stations on the day.
Eskom has recently been accused of being manipulated by the African National Congress (ANC)-led government to keep the lights on at all costs, as political parties use the contentious issue of load shedding as an election tool to woo voters.
Group Executive for distribution Monde Bala said that this is standard procedure for events of national importance and denies that there is anything unusual about the agreement.
“I would imagine that the IEC has other MOUs with other major roleplayers, like telecoms and the people that provide data. The same goes for us who provide electricity to a large part of the country, so we collaborate with them to make sure that from a planning point of view and an emergency point of view, we’ve got our ducks in a row.”