Pretoria - Power parastatal Eskom will implement stage one load shedding as of 5pm this afternoon.
“Eskom will implement stage 1 load shedding from 5pm today, which is likely to continue until 10pm this evening. This is due to a shortage of generation capacity as several units are currently out of service due to maintenance,” said the utility on Tuesday.
The utility said that because of maintenance the system will not be able to meet the 1000 MW of demand, meaning that although certain areas will be without electricity for a certain period, about 96% of South Africans will still continue to receive power supply at the same time.
“Eskom would like to assure customers that load shedding is implemented as a necessary measure to protect the power system and to ensure that maintenance is carried out in order to guarantee that our supply of electricity can be maintained in the long term,” said the utility.
Earlier on Tuesday, the utility announced that there will be no load-shedding for the first part of today as there was sufficient electricity generating capacity to meet demand.
The utility on Tuesday afternoon called on all customers to reduce the load on the electricity grid by urgently switching off geysers, air conditioners, pool pumps and all non-essential appliances throughout the day, which will reduce electricity demand.
Commercial customers, particularly shopping centres and office blocks, can also make a big difference by switching off non-essential lights and not leaving office equipment such as photocopiers and computers in standby mode after hours.
Eskom will use the published load shedding schedules which are available on the Eskom website (http:// loadshedding.eskom.co.za) for Eskom customers. Eskom customers can also contact the customer call centre 0860 037 566.
Municipal customers should contact their municipalities for information. - SAnews.gov.za
