A law firm believes that its plans to launch a class action against Eskom over load shedding are viable, despite a previous statement from the power utility that there are limited grounds for such a case to be successful.
De Beer Attorneys in April called on businesses and organisations which suffered losses due to power cuts to join a class action suit against Eskom. The damages claim is against Eskom directors over fraudulent, unlawful and reckless acts which had a role in the deterioration of Eskom’s generation and resulted in load shedding.
In March, Eskom implemented Stage 4 load shedding over several days, due to failing power plants. Power cuts were worsened by Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, which affected a power line from the Cahora Bassa dam.
Eskom has stated that based on the National Code of Practice for Emergency Load Reduction and System Restoration Practices of 2010, the power utility cannot be sued for load shedding, Fin24 reported previously.
Eskom is yet to respond to Fin24’s queries following the most recent communication from De Beer Attorneys.