East London - Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba says that South Africans need to meet government halfway to ensure that the country does not run out of electricity.
Addressing nearly 500 residents of Mdantsane outside East London on Saturday, Gigaba said building new power stations would not be enough to prevent electricity shortages.
"Yes, we are building new power stations in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. However, if we don't save energy, the new stations won't help us one bit," said Gigaba.
His appeal formed part of the 49M national road-show, which government is using to educate communities on using energy more efficiently in order "for future generations to have electricity as well".
"We must think of the future and make sure that our children also enjoy the privilege of having electricity. The 49M campaign is targeted at educating the 49 million citizens of this country about the importance of saving energy," said Gigaba.
He said government wanted to avoid the load shedding that occurred in 2008 when power stations could not keep up with demand for electricity in the country.
"One of the reasons we didn't have enough power was that we weren't doing enough to educate the people about saving electricity," said Gigaba.
He slammed the Izinyoka - people connecting communities illegally to the power grid.
"These people should be stopped immediately. Everyone should ensure that we clear the Izinyoka's illegal connections in order to save more electricity," said Gigaba.
Twenty-six year old Mdantsane resident, Mushe Maliwa, said she was glad to have learned how to save electricity and cut down on her power bills.
