JOHANNESBURG - Joburg will soon be cooking on gas.
Newly-elected Mayor Dada Morero says communities must be urged to use gas instead of electricity.
He says this will be cheaper and will reduce the burden on the grid.
"The crisis is not just load-shedding, we also have to understand it's also about capacity, also about the infrastructure," he said.
"Soweto population is growing but the infrastructure remains what you found 10 to 15 years ago, that is why we have this problem of illegal connections which also contribute to transformers exploding or burning out.
"You need to say how do we also reduce the burden on the grid to ensure that the grid is given business and commercial sites.
"You then have to say how do we mobilise communities in the townships and move them away from heating and cooking using electricity and transform into gas," the mayor said.
"Because gas will be able to help us reduce pressure on the grid and it has proven to be much cheaper."