In a shock verdict, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has ruled that all hospitals, clinics, schools and police stations should be spared from electricity disruptions.
The United Democratic Movement , Inkatha Freedom Party, Action SA, the National Union of Metalworkers and other organisations launched a legal bid to spare hospitals and clinics, 23 000 public schools and more than 1 100 police stations from load shedding. They also applied to exempt water and sanitation services, small businesses that deal in perishable goods, and cellphone networks from load shedding, but the judgment only focused on education, health and policing facilities.
The sheer number of facilities that would have to be excluded from load shedding would put immense strain on the system.