/ 10 June 2025

“Liability for Damage Caused by Loadshedding: A Consideration of Whether Collective Action for Redress by Consumers in South Africa is Possible” (2024)

160 Tuks Law Portraits Bw

Name of research institution: University of Pretoria

Name of faculty: Faculty of Law

Name of department: Department of Mercantile Law

Author: Dr Tshepiso Scott-Ngoepe. 

Email: [email protected]

Submitting authority: Department of Mercantile Law, University of Pretoria, Law Faculty. 

Submitter: Professor Stefan van Eck

Designation: Acting Head of the Department of Mercantile Law, University of Pretoria

Email: [email protected]

Short description:

The Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) aims to promote the welfare of consumers, particularly vulnerable ones. Loadshedding, introduced in 2007 to manage electricity demand, often results in power surges that damage consumer property, such as appliances. Section 61 of the CPA provides for liability where damage is caused by goods. This paper argues that section 61 could serve as a viable legal basis for collective redress by consumers against electricity suppliers like Eskom and local municipalities for such damages. This article was first published in the Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal.
Link to full paper: https://doi.org/10.17159//1727-3781/2024/v27i0a17933