Fedusa raises concerns about Eskom's blackouts

The Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) says it is “very concerned” by Eskom’s recent announcement that there is a very high risk of rolling blackouts around the country, potentially set to affect households and businesses for the rest of the month.

“An irregular electricity supply is the last problem the domestic economy currently needs as South Africa tries to move into a state of economic recovery and job creation in 2012. Most employees are back at work and companies were operating at full production from Monday, January 9 2012,” Fedusa general secretary Dennis George said.

Eskom said earlier this week that power outages were a possibility due to the combination of planned maintenance, an increase in unplanned maintenance and an ever increasing demand for power.

“While Fedusa will always encourage its members and the general public to use electricity sparingly, we find interruptions to the national power grid unacceptable.

“During our New Growth Path [NGP] strategic discussions, involving organised labour, organised business, government and community, support for stable and continuous economic growth and job creation is always at the centre of collaborative decision making and implementation plans.

Disruptions in power supply will negatively affect production and the goals of the NGP,” George added.—I-Net Bridge