Eskom must give answers about the ongoing electricity crisis, the SA Human Rights Commission said on Friday.
In a statement, the SAHRC said it and the Public Protector could soon work together in an investigation to establish why Eskom had instituted power cuts to the extent it had recently.
Earlier this week, Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana sent a letter to Eskom saying he was considering investigating the power cuts because they were having a devastating effect on service delivery by government.
The SAHRC said: "The Commission is concerned about news reports that load-shedding as is currently being implemented by Eskom, is negatively affecting the provision of essential services and by extension human rights."
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In a letter to the Public Protector, the Commission said it was compelled to make its concerns known about the negative impact of the deliberate power cuts on the enjoyment of human rights.
In particular, it said access to information would enable people to enjoy their economic and social rights and that the information was inaccessible to most people over the internet.
"It is clear that Eskom is not providing adequate, accurate and timeous information to consumers to allow them to plan their lives and businesses around the load-shedding schedule," said the SAHRC.
"It has also been mooted that there is no equitable load-shedding across all areas."
The SAHRC said it had also been reported that Eskom had not properly engaged emergency services, police stations, hospitals and health care facilities.
"The SAHRC would be pleased to participate, within the confines of its mandate, in the Public Protector's process of engagement on this matter," the letter to the protector read.
The Commission said it had the power, in terms of its constitution, to investigate and report on the observance of human rights and to take steps for redress where human rights had been violated.
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