Pretoria - Power supply for tonight is expected to be tight due to higher demand with the colder weather conditions, power utility Eskom said on Monday.
“The system is very tight tonight over the evening peak, and is expected to remain tight over the evening peaks (5pm to 9pm) for the rest of the week due to higher demand with the colder weather conditions,” said Eskom in its system status bulletin.
Eskom on Monday called on all consumers to beat the peak over the next few months by using electricity sparingly, particularly between 5pm and 9pm.
“We request all electricity customers to save at least 10% of their electricity usage and sustain these savings. Residential and commercial customers can make the biggest difference by switching off geysers and pool pumps during peak hours [by] switching off non-essential lights; using space-heating efficiently and responding to the Power Alerts messages.”
The capacity available to meet this evening’s peak demand is 35 191 MW (including open cycle gas turbines), while demand is forecast 35 244 MW.
Last Wednesday, the parastatal declared a system emergency, saying the national power grid was severely constrained.
In the past Eskom customers experienced power cuts as two units at Duvha and Kendal power stations tripped and a portion of the capacity normally imported from Cahora Bassa became unavailable. – SAnews.gov.za
