KAROO NEWS - A Cape Town law firm, De Beer Attorneys, is encouraging South Africans adversely affected by load shedding, and in particular, those who have suffered financial loss, to come forward and join in a planned class-action lawsuit against Eskom.

This is in response to the impact that these planned power outages have had on local businesses.

The lawyers plan to argue that the struggling utility's recent bout of load shedding was the result of negligence, a view shared by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and Eskom chairperson Jabu Mabuza.

Gordhan said it was going to be a huge struggle to overcome the crisis, as he and Mabuza admitteded that the state company had not spent enough on maintaining its equipment over the past five years.

Cape Town law firm De Beer Attorneys is encouraging South Africans to come forward with stories of financial losses caused by the recent spate of load shedding.

Several local residents, who read about this in an online article on Tuesday, have indicated that they would like to take part.

"We have had to buy water tanks and a pump just to have fresh drinking water for our home," said one Graaff-Reinet resident, and another man, who owns a welding business, commented that he has fallen behind on many orders due to being unable to use his equipment without electricity.

Smaller shops have had to close their doors while the lights are out for security reasons, and many local cafes and restaurants have been reduced to offering a very limited menu at these times if indeed they are able to open at all.

According to one of the firm's managing directors, Elaine Bergenthuin, De Beer Attorneys plans to argue that Eskom should be held accountable for losses suffered due to negligence.

The law firm has already predicted what Eskom's defence will be, saying they expect the utility to argue that rather than load shedding showing negligence, it was a responsible reaction to South Africa's current energy crisis and a necessary step taken to prevent a national blackout.

The utility has also publicly stated that they are indemnified against the kind of losses they will be taken to task for in the lawsuit.

Any local residents who would like to add their name to the action can contact Elaine Bergenthuin at De Beers Attorneys on 021 100 4545 or at info@debeersattorneys.com.

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