These are the shedded

While many South Africans are up in arms over losing two to three hours of electricity a day because of Eskom’s load shedding, there are people who have always had their ‘load” shed.

In Princess informal settlement, an area that has never had electricity, David Mogorosi’s dwelling is something of an oddity. There is a TV antenna protruding from his roof, which he acquired from a previous employer. He also has a TV and hopes to get electricity for his box some day.

Another resident, who prefers anonymity, has lived in Princess for 12 years and cohabits with 11 others. ‘We’re used to it. We don’t cry about it anymore,” he says. In his living room, the housemates sit around a mbaula (a paint drum used to contain fire). On top of the mbaula is a pot of beans. Alongside is a large tin filled with water, which will be used for bathing and making tea. The mbaula acts as heater, stove, kettle and geyser.

Thabo Mofokeng says: ‘So, you see, these electricity cuts do not affect us, because we have never had electricity.”

This is not entirely true for some residents of Princess, a few kilometers from Princess Crossing and Westgate Mall. Christina Kapindo, an unemployed nurse, says: ‘Load-shedding does affect us because sometimes you find the ATMs are not working at Westgate.” For those living without refrigerators, it is necessary to draw money to buy food daily.

In Soul City, another area that has never enjoyed power, Jimmy Thatlwa explains that the locals are affected by the power cuts. The lack of lighting on the streets has resulted in residents being ‘mugged silly”, he says. Many go to factories looking for jobs but have been turned away because the factories are unable to function with the power off. ‘The machines don’t work when there’s no electricity so we come home empty-handed,” he says.

Kapindo and her friend, Clara Senokoane, explain how modern appliances are not completely lost on those without electricity. They use refrigerators that work on gas. One person with a fridge allows friends to share it. Cellphones are charged using a car battery.

Battery-operated radios keep people in touch with their surroundings. As Mogorosi explains with a grin: ‘We are a radio-listening people.” Some televisions work, but these are powered by car batteries. As with the fridges, there is a culture of sharing that permeates among those without. Television is watched in large groups for big soccer games or political events.

‘When Eskom build their new stations to give back the three to four hours a day that people are losing, they should think of building stations that are big enough to give people like us a share,” says David Mokwena.

‘Democracy has forgotten us, so when they come to us for votes, we will forget them,” says a jaded resident.

Tips for you

The Central Energy Fund has the following tips to save electricity:

• Make sure the thermostat on your geyser is working and is set to not more than 50 degrees C. It is better to keep the geyser running on a low temperature than to switch it on and off all the time and heat it to 65C.
• Shower (don’t bath as this uses more water and more electricity) for not more than three minutes a person. Turn the water off while you lather and wash.
• Don’t boil water in a pot on the stove — use a kettle, which is more energy efficient.
• Only boil as much water as you need at a time.
• Turn off all air-conditioning units that are not essential, and open windows for ventilation.
• Use low-voltage globes wherever you can.
• Don’t turn fluorescent lights on and off — it uses more power to start them than simply running them.
• If you have three-phase power supply, make sure your board is balanced between the three phases.
• Pre-cook meals (casseroles and roasts) at night, after 8pm, and keep them in fridge to reheat later when the power demand is lower.
• Make sure fridge and freezer thermostats are set to the minimum required. Don’t open and close freezers and fridges unnessesarily.
• Turn off all lights that are not neccessary, especially when moving between rooms. Don’t leave outside lights on during the day.
• Use cold water in washing machines if possible.
• Don’t use washing machines during the day. Do washing after 8pm.
• Don’t use tumble dryers — erect washing lines and let clothes air dry.
• Wherever possible use gas for cooking and heating.

— Surika van Schalkwyk and Nosimilo Ndlovu

Blackouts explained

Load shedding happens when ‘load exceeds supply and the load has to be reduced to a point where the available capacity can handle it”, says Eskom. When this happens the power utility’s system controllers ‘shed some load” — techno-bureaucratic speak for switching off supply.

Load-shedding is a ‘controlled way of rotating the available electricity between all customers”. This may mean that households on Johannesburg’s East Rand, for example, are in the dark while those in the south are lit.

As paradoxical as it may seem, load shedding is an effective way to avoid blackouts and damage to the electrical system, as shortages on the electricity system unbalance it. By rotating the load in a planned and controlled manner, the system remains stable and working.

On a typical weekday demand for electricity starts from 2am and rises steadily as people wake up. The system experiences its morning peak load at about 6am and 9am, when demand gets close to the available capacity. After 9am the load eases off, only to peak again at about lunch time and then again at about 4pm when people are arriving home.

Air conditioners and heaters are the domestic eqivalents of the big off-road vehicles that use a lot of fuel and emit loads of pollutants. If geysers do not have insulating blankets they gobble up more electricity in winter than in summer because heat escapes through their metal casings. — Percy Zvomuya