Eskom: Unrealistic to stop load shedding for Eid

This comes after the Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa and the Gatesville Mosque in Cape Town wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa asking for temporary reprieve from load shedding during the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations.

Muslims across the world are gearing up to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar for fasting and prayer observed by Muslims across the globe.

In a letter to Ramaphosa, Mohammed Abdulla argued that the president managed to spare the country from load shedding over the Christmas period.

Mohammed Abdulla pleaded with the president to consider a temporary reprieve from the planned power cuts.

President of the Muslim Judicial Council, Shaykh Irafaan Abrahams, also made the same call to the president, arguing that Christians were exempt from load shedding during Christmas and Easter.

 Al Jama-ah leader in Parliament Ganief Hendricks is the latest to join the call.

In a response to Jacaranda FM News, Eskom said it's not realistic to exempt the country from load shedding during this period as the grid is already constrained.

"Load shedding is not implemented as a selective response but as a response to protect the grid from collapse.

"Eid-ul-Fitr is over a Lunar month (29-30 Days), and during the time of year when industry operates as usual.

"The demand on the grid is already constrained.

"As there is no specified area or areas that can be ring-fenced as purely observing Eid-ul-Fitr, as well as that most households being embedded in the network with other customers, exempting the country from load shedding for this period cannot realistically be considered."

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