Eskom predicts that no load shedding will occur during Woordfees but contingencies are in place should it happen.
“We are prepared for load shedding. We are not worried,” says Danie Marais, spokesperson for Woordfees, amid the current energy crisis in South Africa.
Woordfees starts Friday 1 March 2019 and runs until Sunday 10 March 2019.
Andrew Etzinger, senior general manager for demand management at Eskom, says load shedding is not predicted however there may be short periods of power outages due to the vulnerability of power stations.
Stellenbosch is divided into two load shedding zones, including zone two and eight, which may affect performances at Woordfees should load shedding occur.
Dirkie van der Merwe, logistics manager for Woordfees, says that a lot of Woordfees’ venues run the kykNET Leefstylarea require sufficient power to drive the success of events.
Tents erected at Wilgenhof Residence on the corner of Victoria Street and Ryneveld Street in preparation for Woordfees. PHOTO: CHER PETERSEN
“A large number of venues have independent power sources,” says Van der Merwe.
Other venues run off generator power and quite a few of them run off back-up generators such as the Adam Small Theatre Complex and Spier Wine Farm.
Van der Merwe says Woordfees has Plans B and C that rolls out for venues that don’t have back-up generators, depending on the severity of the load shedding. These do however have a big cost implication for the festival.
“Load shedding is quite disruptive when considering traffic, especially with traffic lights not working and businesses needing to shut their doors. The overall experience will be dampened somewhat as the event expects some disruptions; however we are trying to minimise its effect,” says Van der Merwe.
No particular venues are at risk, as Woordfees has made plans to ensure the event runs smoothly and to minimalise the effects of load shedding, says van der Merwe.
Amber Fox-Martin, the stage manager of Vlug, a theatre show, says that load shedding would have a big impact on the show as power is important in a venue because of the lighting that is used.
Amber Fox-Martin, stage manager of Vlug, at All Good Things Cafe on Ryneveld Street in Stellenbosch explaining the impact of possible load shedding on shows. PHOTO: CHER PETERSEN
Fox-Martin says that if load shedding happens there would be 30 seconds without electricity during which a generator goes on, however within those 30 seconds everything is on hold and the light settings go back to default. When the generator goes on, equipment such as sound desks and lights have to reboot.
Actors need to be mentally prepared for when this happens. They are trained to stay in character for the 30 seconds, should load shedding happen.
In the past, Woordfees has had to deal with load shedding which, van der Merwe says, has prepared them to plan ahead for this year’s event.