Pretoria - Eskom will implement stage1 load-shedding as of 4pm this afternoon, it said on Monday.
“Eskom will implement stage 1 load shedding from 16:00 today, which is likely to continue until 22:00 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.
Eskom said that the power system remains constrained and will remain so for the rest of the week.
“We therefore urge all electricity customers to reduce their consumption in order to reduce the severity of load shedding.”
There are several units that had been expected to return from maintenance today that are now delayed due to further technical problems. Koeberg Unit 1 is also scheduled to enter into a refuelling and maintenance outage from today and is expected to return back to service at the end of May.
“We would like to thank all the customers who responded to our call and reduced their energy consumption, which helps reduce the severity of load shedding. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience to affected customers.”
Eskom managed to augment its emergency reserves (dam water levels and diesel stocks at its peaking power stations) over the weekend.
Eskom has 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 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
