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Cape Town ready for '2 weeks without power'

Cape Town - The possibility of a complete countrywide power failure of up to two weeks has forced the Cape Town City Council to be prepared at the highest level for such an event, reported Netwerk24 on Friday.

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille has asked the public "not to panic".

In March, the national disaster management team held an information session with the provincial government and asked that preparations should be made for what was described as the "highly unlikely" possibility of a complete blackout across the country.

The City accordingly established a task team in this regard.

"Although the possibility is very small, the impact of such an event could be disastrous," said De Lille at an information session for the media, which took place on Thursday.

In the event of such a total blackout, basic municipal services like sewage management would be hit the hardest. Generators are necessary for sewage pump stations.

The availability of water should only be a problem in higher situated areas.

De Lille said in case of a total blackout, the city will be able to provide a limited service. The City Council has to approve a special budget of R245m for the new financial year, which starts on 1 July, to buy items like generators.

"This is an extra expense, but necessary," said De Lille.

According to Dave Hugo, the special project manager, key role players like the Cape Town International Airport, the Cape Town harbour, the Metro train service, Prasa and Eskom have been included in the project.

Apart from buying generators, the next big issue would be having enough fuel secured for the generators.

* For the full article and more news in Afrikaans, visit Netwerk24.

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