The Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan is set to lodge an urgent appeal against the decision handed down by the North Gauteng High Court to exempt essential services from load shedding.

CONCERNS

Gordhan said that his department has serious concerns about the implications of the court ruling on the current efforts to stabilise the national grid and get the country out of load shedding. A high court last week ruled that government must spare schools, police stations and healthcare facilities from load shedding within 60 days.The application was originally lodged by the United Democratic Movement, Inkatha Freedom Party, Action SA, the National Union of Metalworkers and 15 others. They sought for hospitals and clinics, 23 000 public schools and police stations to be exempt from load shedding, along with water and sanitation services, small businesses that deal with perishable goods and cellphone networks.

IT'S A RISK

Gordhan says the decision to appeal is based on the pressure that will be put on the grid if all these institutions are exempted all at once. "The department has studied the ruling and has determined through legal advice that the prudent step to take is to lodge an appeal to set aside the ruling and allow for the ongoing efforts to end load shedding to proceed without putting undue risk on the country's grid infrastructure," Minister Gordhan said. "While the department respects the independence of the courts, in this case the department believes that the judgment would have unintended consequences and undermine the very efforts to balance the protection of the rights that were ventilated in this case, with the need to stabilise and protect our grid infrastructure," Minister Gordhan said.