City Power confirms load shedding exemption for ANC conference
City Power has confirmed that the ANC’s national conference taking place at Nasrec, south of Johannesburg, will not experience any load shedding.
The utility company said on Saturday it has exempted the precinct at which the ANC’s national elective conference is being held from load shedding.
The ANC is hosting its 55th national elective conference at Nasrec from 16 to 20 December.
Some 6 000 participants including the president, deputy president, party members, MPs, ministers, mayors, and diplomats are attending the 5-day conference south of Johannesburg.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the request was made by NatJoints, a body comprising of the country’s law enforcement agencies.
“The exclusion is to assist security operation in the area due to the presence of high security risk persons such as the president of the country, deputy president, and the government ministers,” he added.
Eskom has recently granted City Power a 3-day exemption from load shedding following the devastating floods in large parts of Gauteng.
The utility company will use this reprieve to keep the lights on at the ANC’s national elective conference.
The Nasrec precinct is supplied by the Crown and Robertsham substations, which, according to Mangena, are usually subjected to load shedding.
“City Power has always supported the major events - be it sports, religious, or cultural events - within the City of Johannesburg through our relationship with event organisers,” Mangena concluded.
The ANC denied that the party had sent a request to Eskom to exempt the conference from load shedding.
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