Pretoria - Power utility Eskom will today again implement stage two load-shedding.
“Eskom will implement stage 2 load shedding from 8am today, which is likely to continue until 10pm this evening. This is due to a shortage of generation capacity as several units are currently on unplanned outages due to technical faults,” said the utility on Friday morning.
Furthermore, units that were expected to come back on line after maintenance have delayed and among them is Koeberg’s Unit 1.
“Eskom is implementing its maintenance plan to increase the reserve margin and stabilise the grid. We thank customers for responding to our messages to decrease demand. We appeal to all communities to report cases of illegal connections and vandalism as these practices put lives in danger and a further strain on the electricity network causing local outages,” it said.
In addition, the utility said the power system remains severely constrained and will remain so for the rest of this week.
“We therefore urge all electricity customers to reduce their consumption in order to reduce the severity of load shedding.”
On Thursday afternoon, the power utility implemented stage three load-shedding which lasted from 4pm to 11pm. This after it implemented stage two load-shedding.
Stage one of load shedding allows for up to 1 000MW to be shed off the grid, while stage two allows for up to 2 000MW to be shed. Stage three of load shedding allows for up to 4 000MW to be shed.
“Eskom calls 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 customers can check load shedding schedules on the Eskom website (http://loadshedding.eskom.co.za) or contact its customer call centre on 0860 037 566.
Municipal customers are urged to contact their local authorities. - SAnews.gov.za
