Pretoria - While Eskom has not implemented load shedding in the past 10 months, the intermittent power interruptions experienced in Gauteng have been resolved.
“The intermittent power interruptions experienced this week, particularly in Soweto, Emfuleni, Katlehong, Bophelong, Kagiso and Cosmo City have now been restored,” said the power parastatal on Friday.
The power interruptions were caused by overloading of the network because of illegal connections and some network related faults.
Eskom said its teams had worked tirelessly in the past few days to restore power to the affected areas. It also appealed to communities and customers to reduce their electricity consumption especially during peak periods (6am and 8 am, 5pm and 8pm) in order to ease pressure on the power system.
“We also call upon communities to refrain from connecting themselves illegally, to use electricity sparingly and stop buying electricity from ghost vendors. It is also important for communities to support our efforts towards infrastructure upgrades and the smart meter programme so as to ensure that we can accelerate the overall service level improvement,” said Eskom.
It called on people to report any illegal connections or power outages to the Eskom Contact Centre on 08600 37566 or to SMS queries and account number/meter number to 35328.
The power utility said it will inform all of its customers, including municipalities and the general public, before any load shedding is implemented.
“We do not anticipate any load shedding this winter and beyond. Eskom remains committed to ensuring that its customers receive a continuous supply of electricity,” it said.
On Wednesday, Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown criticised the continued use of illegal connections, which led to massive power outages in Gauteng.
The Minister’s comments followed the massive power outage experienced by residents of Soweto and other areas around Gauteng.
The Minister said that these illegal connections also endanger people’s lives. – SAnews.gov.za
