Court rejects Eskom, govt’s appeal against load shedding ruling

Cape Town – The North Gauteng High Court has dismissed Eskom, the government, and Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramakgopa’s leave to appeal against the Load shedding judgment.

The court ruled in December last year that load shedding violated constitutional rights, ordering exemptions for public health facilities, schools, and police stations from rolling power blackouts by January 31, 2024.

Despite appeals, the court found insufficient compelling reasons to grant leave to appeal, with costs awarded against the applicants.

Eskom’s reliance on a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling was deemed unfounded, with the court affirming the original judgment’s legality.

Government has been denied leave to appeal a high court judgement won by @Action4SA that compels them to provide uninterrupted electricity to schools, hospitals and police stations.

Watch an appeal to the SCA as evidence that load shedding is not done.https://t.co/MnKbMC6Vep

— Michael Beaumont (@ME_Beaumont) May 16, 2024

“Whilst the national energy crisis is of national interest, the ‘humanitarian relief’ granted is to address the rights of a small, albeit vulnerable and important, set of segments of society. The EAP (Energy Action Plan) being the Government’s response to the crisis and everything else that goes with it, which may be of wider public interest, has been left untouched by this court’s order.

“It is further trite that, even in matters of public interest, the prospects of success on appeal or, in this case, the lack thereof, remains a weighty factor. We find that, in the circumstances of this case, there are insufficient “compelling reasons” to warrant the granting of leave to appeal,” the court ruled.

Action SA welcomed the judgment, emphasising the importance of humanitarian relief for vulnerable groups affected by load shedding, The Citizen reorted.

“This means that the ‘humanitarian relief’ argued for on ActionSA’s behalf by Adv. G. Benson ought to be immediately implemented, ensuring that even after elections, all public schools, hospitals, and South African Police Services should be exempt from load shedding.”

The party said the fact that Ramokgopa, Eskom and government “saw fit to appeal this humanitarian relief for the most vulnerable, indicates that load shedding is indeed not a thing of the past,” the report quoted ActionSA as saying.