Consider more than 200 hospitals for possible exclusion from load shedding, legal team says

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Not all government facilities have been exempted from power cuts.

The national Department of Health has, in the interim, provided Eskom with a total of 213 hospitals to be considered for possible exclusion from load shedding.

“About 67% of these hospitals are supplied by municipalities while Eskom supplies about 33% of the identified hospitals," health minister Joe Phaahla said.

“Out of the 213 hospitals, 76 hospitals have been exempted of which 26 are directly supplied by Eskom and 50 by municipalities."

Groote Schuur, Tygerberg, Red Cross and George Regional hospitals form part of the 76 health facilities exempted from load shedding since September 2022

An affidavit by recently departed Eskom chief executive officer, Andre de Ruyter shows how government and former Eskom chief executive officers contributed to the electricity crisis.

The court case by UDM, ActionSA and 17 others seeks to, among others, declare the ANC-led government’s response to load shedding as unconstitutional and breaching a number of fundamental human rights, and ask that certain sectors such as safety and healthcare be exempted from load shedding.

The case is set to be heard on 20 March 2023 in the Gauteng High court.