Pretoria - Eskom will implement stage one load shedding this morning as the electricity system continues to be constrained.
“Eskom will be implementing stage one load shedding from 10am until 10pm today to manage dam levels at its pumped storage schemes. Implementing lower stages of load shedding throughout the week helps us prevent severe load shedding later in the week,” said the power utility on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s load shedding is the third one since the start of this week.
Eskom’s pumped storage schemes (which use water to generate electricity) dam levels are also low because the utility was not able to pump water back to full capacity over the past weekend. This is mainly because they were in use over the weekend to meet demand.
Ordinarily, the weekends are used to pump dam levels to maximum capacity in preparation for the forecasted increased demand in electricity during the week.
“This being Eskom’s maintenance season, we expect the power grid to remain constrained for the rest of the summer. Eskom calls on consumers to switch off geysers, air conditioners, pool pumps and all non-essential appliances throughout the day to reduce electricity demand.”
The utility also requested workers to switch off the lights, with the exception of security lighting when they leave office buildings this evening and to ensure that air-conditioners are switched off over night.
Commercial customers, particularly shopping centres and office blocks, can make the biggest difference by switching off non-essential lights and not to leaving office equipment such as photocopiers and computers on standby mode after hours.
Eskom customers are advised to check the load shedding schedules, which are available on the Eskom website (http://loadshedding.eskom.co.za).
They can also contact Eskom's customer call centre on 0860 037 566, while municipal customers are urged to contact their local authorities.
“Eskom will provide regular updates on the status of the power system throughout the day,” it said. - SAnews.gov.za
