As Eskom intensifies rolling power cuts, the City of Cape Town has launched its own app for residents to get real-time information on load-shedding in their area.
The app allows users to see which area is currently being load-shed and which area is next.
Cape Town residents can also use the app to log electricity service requests with the city, or find vendors selling prepaid electricity, says a statement issued by the city.
“As we work to end blackouts over time in Cape Town, load-shedding schedules for city customers are likely to become more complex, with different stages at different times of the day,” says mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
“Our app will allow residents to access the most accurate information about load-shedding, allowing them to plan their lives. We want Capetonians to experience the minimum amount of inconvenience from Eskom’s generation failures while we work to make load-shedding a thing of the past.”
Power utility Eskom implemented stage two load-shedding on Sunday, with it expected to come to an end at 5am on Wednesday.
However, in a tweet this morning, the state-owned company announced it has been “forced to implement stage four load-shedding”, following Majuba unit five and Tutuka unit four tripping.
Cape Town’s app launch comes as the city has accelerated plans to procure its own renewable energy from independent power producers to ensure energy security.
Over the years, the city has been at the forefront of calling on government to be allowed to procure its own energy in order to wean itself from the embattled Eskom.
Beverley van Reenen, the city’s mayoral committee member for energy, notes the app is dependent on Eskom information, stating the city will do its “utmost to ensure accuracy and timeous updates”.
“One could argue few good things come from load-shedding, but this is an example of innovation being born from crisis. This work is part of a myriad projects under way to change the way Cape Town experiences load-shedding.
“This includes constant investment and maintenance in infrastructure to ensure the city is able to protect its customers from at least a stage of load-shedding where it can, while at the same time rolling out mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis’s energy priority of ending load-shedding over time.”
The city's load-shedding mobile app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
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